


The General and The Mayor

by Acro111



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout - Fandom, Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fictober, Friends to Lovers, Slice of Life, Smut, Suicide mention, fictober prompts, heavy theme, prompts, self harm mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-11-10 17:48:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 25,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acro111/pseuds/Acro111
Summary: Fictober prompts 2019 following The General of the Minutemen and Sole Survivor of Vault 111, Nora and the Mayor Of Goodneighbor, John Hancock.Prompts found on tumblr @fictober-eventChapter 11 is where some heavy stuff and some smut starts.





	1. It will be fun, trust me

Hancock blew into his hands in a desperate attempt to warm them. It was the dead of winter and Nora had woken him up before dawn to go trekking up the mountain behind Sanctuary. He wasn’t suited for this kind of weather, he had no extra layers on, and what he did have on was so threadbare that he may as well have walked out into the snow naked as the day he was born. His boots were soaked through, he kept fighting the winter wind to keep his hat on his head, and his hole-y pockets did nothing to protect his hands when they weren’t busy trying to protect his hat.

Nora had, of course, offered him more layers to wear before they headed out, but Hancock had stubbornly refused, stating it would ruin his look. Now he was wishing he had at least accepted a scarf or a coat. He looked up the mountain where five paces ahead and gaining, trudging through the snow with four bound wooden planks strapped to her back was the General of the Minutemen, Sole Survivor of Vault 111, and Hancock’s trusted friend and companion.

Well, “trusted” was a big word for a woman who woke Hancock out of his steamy dream and dragged him from his warm makeshift bed on her couch. Right now, Hancock thought the words “bat-shit crazy” made more sense. But, he trudged up the mountain after her, following the path she forged so he wouldn’t have to exert so much energy.

Nora was dressed smarter for the occasion, she had on a heavy duty coat over her normal uniform, and had reinforced her boots for the icy, wet climb they were making. They walked past the decayed gate leading to the Vault, Nora didn’t even spare it a glance, but Hancock couldn’t keep his curious eyes away from the Vault entrance. He often wondered what it was like in the Vault. Sure, he’d been to Vault 81 with Nora a few times, but from what she had told him and what he had learned on his own, her Vault was very different.

“Hey, not one to complain, sister,” Hancock called ahead, “but what are we doing in the snow at the ass-crack of dawn?”

Nora stopped and turned back to face him, she had pulled a scarf over the lower half of her face, tucking it up around her ears and under her glasses on her nose to protect her from the elements. She started to speak but realized how muffled she sounded and reached up with a gloved hand to pull her scarf down, “Awww is someone ti-ward?” She used her puppy-talk voice and gave him a fake pout.

Hancock held his hands up in defense, “Hey, I’m just wondering, is all. You go on about how much you need sleep and then you go waking me up at,” by now he had caught up to her, his chest felt tight from fighting gravity and the snow and he took huge gulps of cold hair to try and fill his burning lungs. He grabbed her left wrist, flashing the time at her, “5 a.m.”

“Awww,” Nora raised one hand to cup his face. Hancock nearly shivered from the warmth her hand gave off, “wah wah wah, baby.” She pinched his cheek and gave his head a good shake before turning back around.

“Whoa,” Hancock started to fight knee deep snow to walk alongside Nora, “I never said,” his foot snagged on a root and he nearly fell face first into the snow. His arms flailed around, looking for something to grab onto, thankfully, Nora was there. Her hands had already caught him by the time Hancock realized what was happening.

“You alright?” Her hazel eyes were hidden behind her foggy glasses, but she slid them down her nose to peer over the frame at him. Hancock nodded as he righted himself.

“I wasn’t complaining about the walk. Just about the secrecy of WHY we’re taking this walk.” Hancock explained. His foot was aching, and the cold was seeping into his bones making him stiff, sore, and irritated.

“I promise you’ll see.” Nora vaguely answered. They finally made it to the top on the mountain and turned back to look at the Commonwealth. With a groan Nora dropped the bound wooden planks off her back, letting them fall into the snow with a “fft!” frozen crunch sound. She was out of breath and flopped down onto the boards, her knees bent upward, her elbows resting on her knees, and her fingers laced together in front of her.

“Alright, bud, pop a squat.” Nora nodded to the snow covered ground.

“No thanks.” Hancock shifted from foot to foot. Now that he wasn’t moving he could really feel the cold seep in through his clothes. “Okay, now what?”

“Now, we wait.” Nora said, “so sit.” Hancock groaned and refused to sit.

This was ridiculous! This was the kind of morning where you stayed in bed with a hot drink (if you could afford to have a bed or a hot drink that was actually intended to be hot) or a hot body (which if Nora hadn’t interrupted his dream he could have imagined he had). Why, just the previous night everyone in Sanctuary gathered in the community house Nora, Preston, and Sturges had built to have drinks, tell stories, and just have quality time together. Moments like those were rare in the Wasteland, but Nora made it seem so natural. She made people feel like they didn’t need to survive from day to day, they could just exist and live, and not worry about how close death was getting. Now she was dragging him up a mountain in knee deep snow just to...what? Sit? On a couple planks of wood? He wanted to storm back down to her house and go back to sleep when Nora suddenly gasped and grasped his wrist.

“Look.” She breathed out. Hancock turned to see what she was seeing and, if he wasn’t already struggling to breath, the air would have been knocked out of him.

A gorgeous, pink and orange sunrise glittered across the snow covered Commonwealth. The sky bloomed in colors Hancock didn’t know it could bloom into. Clouds were purple streaks across a warm, new, hopeful sky.

Hancock swore he heard a few songbirds tweeting.

The scene was picturesque.

Beautiful.

“Alright. Now we go down.” Nora scooted herself to the front of the four wooden planks.

“What?” Hancock looked at her incredulously.

“Come on,” she gave the boards a few pats, “hop on.”

“Absolutely not.” Hancock crossed his arms. This was where he was putting his foot down, “that thing is a death trap, and the way your angled is asking for a broken neck.”

“Come on, it will be fun, trust me!” Nora insisted. She looked up at him with her innocent hazel eyes.

Hancock turned away tensely, knowing he would eventually break if he tried to start up a staring contest with her. He refused. “No. Now, come on.” He bent down to grab her arm and pull her back up, but Nora turned and grabbed him with her free arm, pulling him onto the wooden planks. His knees hit the wood hard and Hancock grunted in pain as Nora faced forward, her arms still holding his, wrapping them around her body as she began to move them forward. “Nora! Nora, no! Nora!” He braved himself against her back as the wooden planks hit an ice patch and began to rapidly race down the mountain.

Nora whooped and hollered gleefully and Hancock tightened his grip around her waist, burying his face in her shoulders to hide from the blast of freezing air that rushed by them. Thankfully the nightmarish ride ended in just a few seconds. The wooden planks turned sideways and Nora and Hancock went tumbling off into the snow. Hancock was laying face down, one arm still wrapped around Nora. When he lifted his head he saw Nora was on her back with her arms spread wide (his arm was across her stomach) and she was giggling. Her eyes were closed, but Hancock could see the unbridled glee on her half concealed face.

Hancock let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and pushed himself up. He hovered over Nora who eventually opened her eyes and stopped giggling. Hancock noticed how her curls glistened as snowflakes gathered on her red locks. She took a shuddering breath and Hancock became aware of how close they were.

“Let’s agree to never do that again.” He finally broke the silence.


	2. Just follow me, I know the area

Hancock didn’t hang around Preston Garvey all that often, and when the two men were in the same room it was usually because Nora was with them. They both had very different views on how to run the people that depended on them, but because of their positions of power they had a mutual respect for each other. It didn’t stop them from ragging on each other when Nora was out of earshot, and Hancock wasn’t above making childish faces at the other man in an attempt to rile him up. 

Currently they were making silent jabs at each other while Nora sorted through papers from other settlements. Some were requesting aid in ridding nearby raiders, ghouls, or super mutants, others simply needed more supplies to survive. The office built in Sanctuary was isolated from Nora’s house and the community house farther down the road and had been Preston and Sturges idea. Nora only used the office if she didn’t want people walking in and out of her house while she worked.

Evidently their jabs at one another weren’t as subtle as they thought they were because Nora slammed her hands on the table and glared up at them. “Can I help you two children, or can you both grow up and help me?”

Hancock’s onyx eyes widened and he glanced at Preston who looked dumbfounded. “General, I was just-“

Nora held up a hand and slowly rose from her seat. “Stop.” She told him, “just, stop.” She sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and closed her eyes in thought. 

“Hey, sister, it was my-“ Hancock spoke up, breaking the tense silence but Nora once again held up a hand to stop him.

“No. No, Hancock, I’m done with the two of you acting like children,” she flipped through the stack of papers she had been reading. “Here.” She held out a paper and stared at them expectantly. “Well?” She shook it when neither of them reached forward.

“Ma’am?” Preston questioned.

“You two are going to go help these people. Together.”

“What?!”

“General, I don’t think-“

“Me and him? You might as well sign our death warrants-“

“Excuse you, I happen to be well versed in protecting other people-“

“Oh yeah, and Quincy thanks you for your service-“

“General, permission to shoot-“

“ENOUGH!” Nora shouted. Both grown men shrank back. “This is exactly why you two need to go.” She turned to Preston, “Preston, you are my trusted second-in-command. I count on you to keep these settlements running.” She turned to Hancock, her hazel eyes alight with fury, “Hancock, you are my closest friend and confidant.” His stomach twisted, “I need you to have my back.” She sighed and leaned on the table, “I care about both of you, but this childish feud has gone on long enough. Now,” she waved the paper in front of them again and Preston reached for it first. Nora pulled the paper just out of his reach, they both looked at her in shock, “Be safe.” Her eyes were tired, her shoulders sagged and Hancock realized just how worn down from stress his friend was. Preston nodded as Nora handed him the slip of paper. She flopped back down in her chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“Will do, ma’am.” Preston tipped his hat to her.

“Yeah, me and Garvey’ve got this covered. You just rest, sister.” Hancock put his hands confidently on his hips. Nora just hummed to let him know she had heard him. Hancock turned to speak to Preston, but the other man was already walking out, not wanting Nora to blow up at him again, Hancock turned on his heels and ran after him. 

“So, what’s the mission, Garvey?” Hancock asked as he fell into step beside Garvey.

“Some place called The Slog has been having raider problems.” Preston read off the paper. Hancock grinned sneakily as he stuffed his hands casually in his pockets. He wasn’t sure if Preston knew The Slog situation, but he kept his mouth shut just in case he was unaware. Sure, Preston seemed like the kind of guy to not care about whether someone was ghoul or not, but Hancock had noticed how Preston always seemed to be following him whenever he wandered away from Nora, as if he was suspicious of Hancock stealing from the settlers. Or maybe it was Hancock he didn’t trust and other ghouls were perfectly fine.   
Hancock didn’t bother dwelling on it, opting to instead light a cigarette and pop a mentat into his mouth. Preston made a sound of disgust. “What?” He asked, blowing smoke out of his exposed nasal cavity.

“You know those things will rot your inside, right?” Preston asked rhetorically. “They’re disgusting. I don’t know how the General can stand being around you.”

“It must be my devilish looks.” Hancock smirked, running a hand under his jaw. Preston rolled his eyes, huffing and turning slightly away as if to block him from view. “Hey, I think the ghoul look gives me a sexy, king-of-the-zombies kind of vibe.” He taunted. “Jealous you ain’t got what Nora and I-“

“Let’s just drop it.” Preston huffed angrily. Hancock loved getting under Preston’s skin, and Nora was a sensitive spot. Preston admired Nora, and everyone knew that. It was purely platonic and strictly professional, but if Nora told him to jump he’d ask her how high. He didn’t like that Nora showed compassion to people like him; chem abusers, rule breakers, extortionists. Or maybe Preston didn’t like that Nora was specifically so close to Hancock.

Hancock didn’t care one way or the other. Nora had his back from day one when she stumbled into Goodneighbor with nothing but a pistol and a still frosty vault suit. He had taken her to the Third Rail after stabbing Finn for trying to extort her as a way to relax her nerves and maybe find out what a pretty little vault dweller was doing on his side of town. Needless to say, when Nora came to him a week later talking about some shady shit Bobbi No-Nose was doing Hancock knew he had to get out of town. His life was getting too cushy, and Nora provided the perfect escape. Ever since then they’d covered each other’s backs. It was nice relying on someone who wasn’t using him for chems or power, and Hancock decided he needed more people like that in the Commonwealth—

Which look where that got him.

Walking the wastes with a man who despised how close he was with his precious General, doing minuscule favors for people who—in his opinion—should just be trained to handle themselves. Hancock rubbed his temples. That mentat he’d popped earlier was really doing a number on him. As he clenched his eyes shut in pain he nearly ran into Preston.

“Shit,” Hancock swerved to avoid hitting the other man just in time.

Preston was surveilling their surroundings, “are you sure we’re going the right way?”

“What? You thought I was navigating?” Hancock asked, “You’re the one who took charge of the mission.”

“What?” Preston asked incredulously.

“Alls I’m saying is; you took the paper, you started walking off first, I thought you were leading the way.” Honestly, how dense could the man get? 

Preston groaned in frustration and Hancock watched in amusement as Preston bit back a few choice words.

“You done throwing a fit?” Hancock asked as Preston began to pace.

“I’m not throwing a fit.” Preston snapped.

“Uh huh. Just follow me, I know the area.” Hancock nodded towards the south. They’d wandered too far north and Hancock could see the old state asylum over the horizon. Preston begrudgingly followed. It took them most of the day to make it to The Slog, only made longer by their small, unintentional detour north, but they found the settlement still buzzing with activity when they arrived at dusk.

Hancock was disappointed to see Preston was unfazed by the ghoul settlement, and even more disappointed when the raiders they were sent to dispatch didn’t so much a put a scratch on either of them. What was the point of killing someone if they didn’t even put up a decent fight? It just felt like unjust murder at that point. 

“Hancock, look out!” Something clicked underfoot and Hancock barely registered the beeps ringing in his ear before another body tackled his.  
When the smoke cleared Hancock groaned and cough out some smoke and debris. Preston was standing over him, panting like he’d just run a marathon. He looked down at Hancock, his dark eyes were wide. “You alright?” Preston asked.

But Hancock didn’t hear him, his legs felt broken and he groaned in pain. He twisted painfully on the ground as Preston’s panicked voice got harder and harder to hear. Everything had happened so fast, Hancock could hardly process it all. A frag mine had gone off underfoot, Preston saved him, but the blast still caused some hefty damage. Somehow, Preston was untouched, and he was able to shuffle through his pockets to find a stimpack. He jabbed the needle into Hancock’s thigh and he shot up with a howl of pain. Hot, white spots painfully danced across his vision. 

“Stay with me, Hancock.” Preston lightly slapped his face.

“Whoa, I usually get taken to dinner before the rough play starts.” Hancock mumbled, his eyes unfocused.

Preston scoffed, “same old, same old.” He started to turn away.

“Hey,” Hancock grabbed his arm before he could completely leave. “Thanks, Garvey.”

The job was done, caps were caps, and they could head back to Sanctuary. Silently, they agreed to go to Nora’s office. It was well past midnight when they trudged into the safety of Sanctuary. Hancock nearly ran into Preston again as he stepped inside. “Shh,” Preston turned, holding a finger to his lips. Hancock looked at him quizzically, then he peered around him into the office. Nora was laid down on the couch, her chest armor discarded on the floor, coat used as a blanket, and Dogmeat on the floor under her limp hand. A soft snore reassured Hancock that Nora was just sleeping and he and Preston silently agreed to let her sleep.


	3. Now? Now you listen to me?

Nora was pretty good at being able to spot an impossible situation. She’d gone from young mother in pre-war America with no formal weaponry training to hardened General of the Minutemen in a post-war wasteland. She was able to survive everything the Commonwealth threw at her with minor breaks and bruises, and had taught herself a decent amount of proficiencies in her range of preferred weaponry. She was cautious enough to know when to back out of a sticky situation, but headstrong enough to make a bloody name for herself. That’s why her newest observation left her so shook. She came to the world-shattering conclusion that her current situation was impossible. 

She was developing feelings for her friend and traveling companion, John Hancock. 

It was little things at first; the way he always lent a hand when people asked for help (even if they were scared of him because of his looks), the way he always had her back (even if it meant him getting hurt worse), and even the way he helped rebuild her old home (she insisted on doing it by herself, but had to accept defeat and allow him and Sturges to help). Then she began to notice other things about him; the way he subtly danced at Sanctuary when a radio was turned on and he thought no one was watching, the way he smiled at kids when they came up to him with no hesitation, and even the way he bashfully accepted her invitation to sleep on her couch instead of in the community house in Sanctuary.   
Presently, Nora was caught up in deeper feelings about the Mayor; the conversations they had while traveling, how he always knew how to comfort her after a bad day, and—hell—she couldn’t forget how he stayed by her side after she got shot in the leg and helped her recover.

All this made her current situation unbearable.

They had stopped by Goodneighbor so Nora could grab some 2mm ammo for her gauss rifle from KL-E0 and chat with Daisy about a book the ghoul had recommended when a woman’s voice made Nora’s blood run cold.

“Hiya, Hancock, back for another tour of the town?” Her voice was dripping with obvious desire. Hancock had stayed outside, smoking a cigarette, and leaning against the decayed storefront.

“Oh, hey,” Hancock’s voice was quiet.  
Daisy stopped talking and watched Nora, but Nora’s eyes had unfocused on the world around her. She was staring through the wall behind Daisy, her hand slowly lowering to her rifle. “I gotta check on a few things first, but meet me in the State House.” Daisy’s hands snapped across the counter to grab Nora’s wrists.

“Kid, he ain’t worth it.” Daisy’s gravelly voice brought Nora back to reality.

Nora let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Hey, sister,” Hancock’s hand touched the small of her back and Nora tensed up, flinching away from him. He didn’t seem to notice, “I’ve got some business to take care of. Mind waiting around town for a bit?”

Nora looked anywhere but at him, afraid she’d shoot him if she did. “I,” she squeezed her eyes shut, “I need to get back to Sanctuary. Is it work you can take on the road?” Nora already knew the answer, but she hoped Hancock would leave with her.

“Ehh, not exactly.” Hancock rubbed his neck.

“Well, I’ve got to get home.” Nora practically hugged her rifle to her chest, using it as a barrier between them.

“It won’t take long, promise.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. Nora pulled away. Hancock noticed that time and he eyed her suspiciously, “what’s got you twisted, sister?” Her stomach knotted up.

“Can’t you see she’s feeling ill, Hancock?” Daisy stepped in to save the day. Hancock looked between the elder ghoul woman and Nora. 

“I won’t be long.” He reassured her.

“I’m leaving with or without you, Hancock.” Nora spat out harsher than she intended. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she wanted to world to swallow her up.

“Whoa!” Hancock held his hands up in defense, “what has gotten into you?” He demanded.

“Nothing!” Nora lied, “I’m not feeling well. I’m going home.” She held her chin high in defiance as she shoved past him and out into the street.

“Like hell you are,” Hancock followed her. “If you’re ill,” he tried to grab her arm and turn her around, but Nora whipped her arm away from him. Her red curls fell over her face as she glared at him. Hancock didn’t care as he kept talking and trying to grab her now flailing arms, “you’re going to sit your ass right here on this bench and wait for me—“ he tried pushing her back onto the bench, but Nora flailed and fought against him. “What the hell is your problem?!” He shouted at her.

“Just leave me alone!” Nora finally ripped his hands off her arms and shoved them back at him. Hancock actually stumbled back from the force. “It’s obvious I can’t trust you to have my back.” That wasn’t true, but Nora knew the insult would wiggle its way into Hancock’s head where it would fester. Then maybe he’d be as pissed as she was and he could deal with his own frustrations. 

Hancock’s onyx eyes went through a flurry of emotions and eventually settled on narrowed angrily at her. “You listen here, sister,” he reached for her once again, but Nora let out an enraged yell and shoved him onto his ass. Finally out of arms reach, Nora turned and ran from Goodneighbor.

She rubbed furiously at her eyes as tears blinded her. This was an impossible situation, but like any impossible situation Nora had found a way out of it. No Hancock? No feelings. Easy!

She punched a building, ignoring the flash of pain that shot up her arm. 

Why did she fall for him anyways, she knew from the get-go he was the kind of person to chase any pretty thing one two legs. Hell, she HAD spent some time waiting around while he did his “work”. Nora shuddered. She couldn’t believe she was so stupid. Her entire body seemed to throb in pain. Her chest felt heavy yet empty at the same time, it ached terribly, as though trying to reach something unattainable. 

She stumbled through the ruins of Boston as she cried. Her legs carried her in random directions until she collapsed in an alleyway. Her knees hit the ground hard, she let her rifle drop from her arms as she dropped down onto her left side. She curled up, covering her face with her gloved hands to muffle her cries. She wasn’t sure how long she laid on the ground, she wasn’t sure she cared. Nora wouldn’t have cared if Heaven and Hell crashed together and buried her in the rubble. Her throat was raw, and her body ached from being so tensely curled up, but still Nora did not move. She eventually ran out of tears to cry, and she instead wrapped her arms around her body, as if afraid she was going to fall apart.

Hours passed. Occasionally Nora felt motivated to sit up and walk home, but she never moved. Just as she accepted that she would more than likely spend her night in the wastes she heard a gruff, bellowing voice. 

“I heard something!”

Nora’s eyes widened. 

Super Mutant.

She listened. 

Several of them.

They were scouting the area, and Nora knew she’d be found if she didn’t run or hide. 

As quietly as she could, Nora reached out and grabbed her gauss rifle. She pulled it close to her chest and slowly tightened her abs to pull herself up without letting go of her gun. 

Thankfully, she was in an alleyway, so there was plenty of things to hide behind. Unfortunately that also meant that if they spotted her she likely wouldn’t make it out alive. Not without help. Nora scooched across the ground, backing up against a wall behind a dumpster to hide from the entrance of the alleyway. 

“Where is it?!” A Super Mutant shouted.

Nora loaded her rifle and bit her lip to keep from making a sound as the sound of Super Mutants grew closer. There were gunshot and Nora forced her eyes to stay open. 

“Come back here little worm!” 

Someone was actually picking a fight with these Super Mutants.

“Maybe I can use that as a distraction.” Nora thought. It felt wrong to leave someone on their own against Super Mutants, but Nora refused to die just yet. She was still angry and spiteful at a certain Mayor. She crept to the entrance of the alleyway and saw about six Super Mutants swarming a shooter. Nora glanced around to make sure all parties were otherwise occupied before she made a break towards the north. Now that she had gotten her bearings she knew she was only a few blocks from the river. If she could make it to the river she could dive in and swim out of harms way.

“Hey!” A Super Mutant shouted. Nora glanced over her shoulder, four of the six Super Mutants were now chasing her.

Nora let out a scream and turned back around. She forced her aching legs to go faster. She blocked every thought that didn’t help her run. She only had three blocks to go...

Two blocks to go...

One block to—

Something hit her back. Something sharp. Something hot. Something painful. Nora tripped forward, landing hard, face down on the road. Her back felt warm and wet. 

She’d been shot. 

Now in full panic mode, Nora reached for her rifle—which had been thrown from her grasp when she fell—and rolled over. Shooting from the ground at an enemy running towards her wasn’t the best position to be in, but it was this or accept death and Nora was too stubborn to die like this! She steadied her aim, realizing as she pulled the trigger that her glasses had been lost in her fall. She knew turning over would be bad, there was no exit wound, which meant she’d just bleed until she could safely turn back over. 

It didn’t matter, her aim was true and the Super Mutant grabbed his face as he died. Nora steadied her breathing and pulled the trigger on the second Mutant. It went down as easily as the first. Nora reloaded and fired at the third Mutant, whose head exploded in a bloody mess, but the fourth Mutant was on her before she realized it was too late. Nora closed her eyes, waiting for a kill shot or final blow. 

Her heart rang in her ears as a shot rang out and she flinched away from the sound, but when she opened her eyes she saw Hancock standing over her, gun pointed up at the dead Super Mutant. The Mutant swayed on its feel before collapsing backwards. Hancock was breathing heavy, and for a moment he didn’t move.

Nora swallowed hard, trying to calm her racing heart when the pain in her back caught up to her. She let out a tiny groan and she threw her head back against the pavement. 

Hancock turned and stepped away from being over her. “Shit, Nora!” He dropped his gun on the ground and kneeled beside her, “where the hell have you been?” His face was covered in blood and was wide with worry. He didn’t let her answer as he scooped her upper body into his arms, “Fuck, Nora!” He cursed. She tried to wiggle away from him, he kept a firm grip on her as turned her onto her side. “Shit. Christ. Damn it, Nora. What the hell were you thinking?”

Nora blinked wearily, the adrenaline washing away the numbness and exposing her to how much pain she was actually in. “I told you I was leaving.” Was all she could mumble out. Her lips felt wet, and she was horrified to see a puddle of blood beginning to pool under her cheek.

“Well,” Hancock snapped, Nora hissed, arched her back, and winced as he jabbed a needle into her back, “you can’t say I don’t have your back anymore. Because I think I’ve got it pretty damn covered.” Cool healing flooded her body, and Nora let go of the tension she had been holding.

Nora gave out a short laugh. “Now? Now you listen?” Her voice was raw.

“Shit, Nora.” Nora tensed up as Hancock snaked his arms around her midsection and buried her face in her bloody back, “I thought I lost you.” Nora said nothing, her mind and body still in shock. Hancock pulled their bodies closer together, and for a moment, Nora forgot they were in the middle of the street.

But Nora could spot an impossible situation, and staying in the wastes overnight was not a good idea. “Hancock? We should get moving.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”


	4. I know you didn’t ask for this

“Not that I don’t like traveling with you,” Nick Valentine lit a cigarette, “but why aren’t you doing this kind of job with John?” 

Nora didn’t answer Nick immediately, she instead stared up at the ship that was lodged into the old bank. “How did this happen?” She asked, hands on her hips.

Nick shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know what I find more disturbing. That there is a ship lodged in that building or that there still is a ship lodged in that building.”

Nora opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She truly had no words for this situation. Thankfully, she didn’t need to say anything. A Mr. Handy unit came hovering over to them, “Halt.” Nora raised an eyebrow at the Mr. Handy, they hadn’t moved since they first came into the clearing under the boat. “Scanning. Scanning.” Its voice was rougher than Codsworth’s and had a gruff American accent. “Accessing pre-war records. Record found. Driver’s License S91328862. Lawyer.” 

Nora’s eyes widened in shock, “Excuse me??!” She shouted.

The Mr. Handy didn’t seem to notice or care about her outburst, “Ahoy there, citizen! You are hereby conscripted into the Congressional Army.” Nick chuckled.

“Wait, what?” Nora demanded, “you don’t have the authority to do that.”

“We are in desperate times, madame. Proclamation twenty-two allows all crew members to conscript citizens for the war effort.” The Mr. Handy unit informed her.

Nora tried to think back to before the bombs. Was there a Proclamation 22? She was sure if there had been she would have fought it. “What?” Was all she could say. Nick let out a sharp laugh, finding the whole situation humorous. Nora thought about elbowing him, but remembered he was mostly metal and decided not to chance breaking her funny bone. 

“The captain is requesting your presence on deck, recruit.” The Mr. Handy informed her before floating away to continue its sweep of the area.

“This world keeps on getting stranger and stranger.” Nora muttered as she climbed over a pile of rubble into the old bank building.

“Stranger every minute,” Nick agreed. He squeezed ahead of her through a door and helped her down off the debris. “We should really just leave this situation be, kid. What with your back, and—“

“I will never get better if I lay around all day.” Nora waved him off once she was on her own feet. “Besides, I couldn’t stay another second with all of Hancock’s,” she paused, “jobs.” She raised her Pip-Boy and turned the flashlight on. 

“Right.” Nick nodded. “I figured as much.” Nora looked at him in shock, stopping at the bottom of a narrow staircase. “What?” He asked.

“How did you—?” Nora stared at him incredulously.

“I’m a detective, remember?” He tapped on her forehead with his index finger twice.

“Right.” Nora nodded. She turned and started climbing the stairs, Nick laid a hand on the small of her back to support her slow climb. “Is it that obvious?” Nora knew that Daisy knew, but if Nick could figure it out who else could? 

“Not unless you know what to look for.” Nick answered.

“What to look for?” Nora repeated.

“The looks you give him when you think no one is paying attention, the way you talk about him when he isn’t around, the fact that you invited him to live in your house,” Nick ticked off as they climbed.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you loved someone once, didn’t you, Mr. Valentine?” Nora asked. She knew the answer.

“Not exactly.” Nick answered sadly. “But I know the signs of someone being in love. And I’ve been around long enough to learn when that love is unrequited.”

“Wow.” Nora breathed out. She stared at the floor. Nick had read her like a book. 

“Look, Nora. I know you didn’t ask for this. I know John is a bit of an ass,” Nora let out a sad laugh, “But I also know you, and I know you can work through anything. Just give it time. All wounds heal.”

“All wounds?” Nora asked, she looked up at him, heart throbbing painfully in her chest.

“Alright, you got me,” Nick held his hands, “most wounds.” He joked.

“Why,” Nora tried to turn the tables, “Nick Valentine, who hurt you?” 

“Very funny.” Nick rolled his glowing eyes. “Come on, let’s see what this ‘captain’ wants from us.”


	5. I might just kiss you

It was a crisp autumn night in the Commonwealth, but the people of Sanctuary were warm in the community house drinking, eating, and dancing. It was another one of those rare days when Nora reminded people they could just exist, they didn’t need to survive, and the people loved her. Hancock was leaning against the wall near a corner, chatting with Nick, Preston, Piper, Cait, and Curie, but his eyes kept wandering over to Nora who was in the opposite corner telling a story to the gaggle of kids sitting at her feet. She looked so engrossed in her tale, using her hands to gesture wildly and fluctuating her voice so he could almost hear her over the music at points. The kids loved her. Hancock smiled and shook a mentat out into his hand, he popped it in his mouth before anyone could see and reprimand him. He turned back to the conversation around him, but his eyes kept glancing back over at Nora, admiring how glossy her red curls looked under the string of lights overhead, how her smile lit up her whole face, and her hazel eyes sparkled with pure joy.

When a pre-war swing song came on the jukebox Nick perked up. “I remember this old tune,” he smiled fondly.

“Aww, Nicky, we finally going to see your moves?” Piper teased.

Nick raised a brow at her, “I have no moves.” He informed her, “but this song did have a dance to it.” He stood up and stretched for show, “Let’s see if our other antique knows it.” Hancock’s stomach stirred and he narrowed his eyes slightly as Nick walked over and interrupted Nora’s storytelling.

She looked up at him, eyes wide from being pulled from her tale, but she smiled and dismissed the kids with a wave of her hand. The kids all ran off in different directions, finding their parents in other parts of the house. Hancock was surprised to find himself tensing up as Nora took Nick’s hand and they walked to the center of the room. 

“Wooo! Go Blue!” Piper cheered.

“Is dancing customary at these kinds of parties, monsieur Garvey?” Curie asked.

“Well,” Preston flustered.

Hancock tuned them out, watching as Nick stumbled over his feet and Nora laughed gently at him. She helped him find a rhythm and before long the two were expertly dancing in the room. Nick and Nora both laughed as they were joined by other dancers. Curie tried pulling Preston out to the floor, but he was adamant in staying in his seat. Piper eventually took Curie’s hand and they joined the other’s dancing. Hancock watched as Nick twirled Nora out and back in with her back to his chest and hands resting on her hips. An angry beast growled in his chest, but Hancock pushed it away. So what if Nora was dancing with Nick, it was only because he had initiated the dance, it wasn’t like the two of them were close, not the way she and Hancock were. They were comfortable with physical affection towards each other, hugs, lingering touches, light strokes—

“Ooooo!!” The crowd cheered.

Nick and Nora had continued dancing into the next song which was much slower and softer. Many of the dancing partners had made a circle around the two. They were chest to chest, Nora’s head resting on Nick’s shoulder, his cheek resting on top of her head. It looked like Nora was smiling at something Nick had said. 

No, no Hancock must have been imagining it. It was the string lights playing tricks on him.

“It hurts, doesn’t it, kid?” Hancock jumped out of his skin and stared wide eyed at the crazy old chem lady next to him.

“Shit, what was her name?” Hancock thought.

“Mama Murphy recognizes that look in your eyes.” The old lady wasn’t looking at him. She was watching Nick and Nora embarrassingly accept the applause they were receiving. 

“What look?” Hancock demanded.

“Love, kid.” Mama Murphy finally turned to him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, old bag.” He crossed his arms defiantly.

“Oh I know.” Mama Murphy smiled, “The Sight sees all. You love her,” she jabbed his shoulder.

Hancock grabbed the offending finger still jabbed into his shoulder and tossed it aside, “No. I don’t.”

“You either do or you will.” Mama Murphy didn’t seem fazed at all by his rough touch. “But I’ve seen those eyes. You now know what real beauty is, not necessarily in her, but in the work she does. She embodies all you wish you could be, do all you wish you could do. You admire her like a lost puppy,—” 

“You don’t know anything.” Hancock interrupted bitterly.

“I know you want to kiss her. Your mouth was open from the moment that kids hips started moving.” Mama Murphy teased.

“I might just kiss you instead, whaddya think of that?” Hancock put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest to stand over the crooked old woman. 

“You’re not my type, kiddo. But just know you may only get one shot to shoot.” Mama Murphy tried to lay a hand on his arm, but Hancock yanked himself away.

“I don’t have to listen to this.” He pushed himself off the wall and stood in the crowd around Nick and Nora.

“Where’d you learn to dance, Nick?” One settler asked.

“General, I had no idea you could dance! Could you teach me?” Another asked.

“Miss Nora you looked so beautiful dancing with monsieur Valentine.” Curie clapped.

“You’ve got some moves Blue, why’ve you and Nicky been holding out on us?” Piper teased.

“Look, guys, it’s nothing.” Nora insisted, her cheeks flushed red, she turned to Nick, who still had an arm around her, “thank you, Nick, for the dance.”

Nick’s reply made Hancock sick to his stomach, “Anytime, doll.”


	6. Yes, I’m aware. Your point?

It had been a month since Hancock had returned to Goodneighbor. Nora insisted he return to reassure his people that he hadn’t abandoned them and to get some more work done. Although that second reason was said with an unwarranted amount of malice. Hancock was growing bored and restless with his work. The fights were petty, the traders were cheap, and the girls in his office were looking for something more that Hancock honestly could not care less about. So, it came as no surprise to anyone that he left unannounced one day in search of Nora or an adventure. As he walked north towards Sanctuary he wondered why the red head hadn’t made contact with him, a note, a letter, a message—anything really. She had trade routes across the entire Commonwealth, yet she couldn’t afford to send one person his way? 

It took him most of the day, but he made it up to Sanctuary at nightfall. Preston spotted him as he was coming across the bridge and met him on the other side. “Hancock? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Nora, she around?” Hancock answered and craned his neck to see if perhaps she was taking a late stroll with Dogmeat. Preston moved to block him from stepping further into Sanctuary.

“She’s here, but,” Preston hesitated, “she’s busy.”

Hancock’s gut twisted. “Oh.” He mentally shook himself off, “Didn’t know Nick was here too-“

“She’s not with Nick.” 

It felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing a knife into his gut. “What?” He asked quietly.

Preston glanced around before grabbing Hancock by his shirt and pulling him into the nearest still-standing house. 

“Whoa, easy on the goods, Garvey.” Hancock pried Prestons hands off him once they were inside. It was dark, no electricity ran into this particular house, but that also meant they were alone.

Preston kept glancing around and it was making Hancock paranoid. “Look. The General went off and did something she probably shouldn’t have,” Preston grumbled, “but she did. She was gone for a few weeks and then she came back, but just the other day she left and now she’s back and dealing with this guy and—“

“Whoa, slow down there, cowboy.” Hancock didn’t want to hear another word, “what did she do?”

“She,” Preston swallowed and motioned for Hancock to lean in closer, he did so, “she joined the Brotherhood of Steel.”

“What?” Hancock backed up as though Preston had physically slapped him, his heart was pounding in his ears. “I didn’t think chems were your style Garvey, clearly you’re using them wrong—Nora would never—“

“She’s with one of their Paladin’s now. In her office.” Preston blurted out. Hancock backed away, his head throbbing in pain, his stomach felt weak, and he unfocused on the world around him. “Hancock!” Preston grabbed the ghouls arms, “can you see if you can talk some sense into her?”

“Oh I’ll talk sense into her alright.” Hancock growled. He stormed out of the house, ignoring Preston’s call for a plan. Fuck plans! Nora needed a swift kick in the ass if she thought siding with the Brotherhood of Steel was going to do her any good as General. He marched passed her house and went straight to her office in the cul-de-sac. Not bothering to knock or make his presence known, he kicked the door open. 

Inside was a sight Hancock would have paid to never see in his life. 

Nora was sitting on the couch, thigh to thigh, with a Brotherhood asshole. His power armor was standing ominously in the back corner. The Brotherhood asshole had his head in his hands and Nora had an arm around him, comforting him.

“So this is why you dumped mayoral duties on me?” Hancock asked.

Nora had jumped and stared at him wide eyed when he first kicked her door open, and now the Brotherhood asshole was looking over as well.

“Soldier, get down!” The Brotherhood asshole stood up, a weapon already drawn. Hancock threw his hands up in defense instinctively, but Nora had also jumped up and between him and the gun.

“Danse! It’s okay, Hancock is a friend!”

“He’s a ghoul, subhuman, disgusting—“ The Brotherhood asshole spat out, not lowering his weapon and glaring over Nora’s shoulder at him.

“Hey, you’re no prince charming either, asshole.” Hancock lowered his hands and reached for his rifle.

“Danse, weapon down,” Nora turned to Hancock, “Hancock, don’t even think about it.” He felt like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. She turned her body to him, turning her back to the gun that was still pointed at him. “Hancock, what are you doing here?” She demanded.

“Doesn’t matter,” he walked over and grabbed her arms, the Brotherhood asshole tightened his grip on his weapon, so Hancock made a show of pulling Nora close to his chest. She had to crane her neck back to look at him, and her hands had landed on his chest. “You’ve clearly gone off the deep end without me,” he looked down at her, her hazel eyes wide with confusion, “so I’m taking out and we are hitting the road again.“

“I’d advise you unhand Miss Nora at once, you animal.” The Brotherhood asshole ordered.

“Hancock, stop!” Nora tried to push him away, “this is ridiculous,” she turned to the Brotherhood asshole, “Danse, I’m sorry, give me one moment,” Hancock took that as his cue and practically dragged Nora out of her office.

“What the hell was that?” Hancock snapped at her once they were outside. “Do you know what kind of racist, superiority bullshit those assholes ride on?”

“Yes, I’m aware. Your point?” Nora demanded.

“My point?” Hancock was nearly roaring at this point, “my point is you are a thousand times better than those shit heads! They’re tyrants, Nora!”

“Danse isn’t like the other Brotherhood members—“ Nora defended.

“Oh, so you’re on first name basis with the asshole?” Hancock spat, he’d noticed it earlier, but it still stung. 

“Hancock would you just listen to me?” Nora shouted.

“Listen?!” He shouted, “I think your actions have said enough—“

“I only joined the Brotherhood of Steel to steal information from them!” Nora shouted back at him.

Hancock’s anger deflated slightly, “What?” He asked quietly.

“The Railroad heard a rumor that the Brotherhood was planning an attack.” Nora realized she was still talking loudly and took a deep breath before continuing at a normal volume, “It happened to coincide with a big mission to smuggle synths out of the Commonwealth, so they sent me to spy on the Brotherhood.” She explained. “Danse was my training Paladin?” She waved it off, “It didn’t matter. Danse trained me. I got the information I needed and left. Then a Scribe reached out to me and told me that Danse was a synth and the Brotherhood wanted him dead.” Hancock kept his eyes narrowed at Nora. “It wasn’t right, so I found him and persuaded the Brotherhood to let him leave with me.” She opened her arms, “And that’s where we are.” She finished.

“So why is he still here?” Hancock nodded back to the office. “Send Captain Metal-For-Brains off.”

“And let the Brotherhood use him as target practice? I don’t think so.” Nora put her hands on her hips. “I’m just trying to help Danse adapt to civilian life. Just like I did for Nate.”

Hancock physically flinched. 

Nate.

That was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. 

Nora’s deceased husband. She’d offhandedly mentioned a few times that Nate had been in the military, but due to a near-death experience on his last deployment where he ended up being the only survivor of his regiment he had been honorably discharged.

Hancock squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure building up at the front of his skull. “So that’s it? You’re just helping him adjust.”

“That’s all.” Nora seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Good.” Hancock awkwardly looked anywhere but at Nora, all his anger had been deflated, now he felt completely drained.

“Hancock?” He didn’t look at her, “Hancock,” she raised an ungloved hand to cup one of his gaunt cheeks. Hancock’s skin tingled in a good way. He couldn’t recall if their skin had ever touched before. “You know I care about you. And I care about ghouls and synths.” She added, “No amount of weaponry or power armor could persuade me to give up everything I’ve worked for,” Hancock’s breathing hitched as Nora stepped closer. He swore her hips rocked against his for a brief second and he bit down a groan. “Okay?” She asked.

Hancock reached up to cradle the hand that was touching him. His body moved of its own volition, he lowered her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

“Okay.”


	7. No and that's final

Nora breathed in the irradiated air of the Commonwealth. She was finally alone--well, mostly alone. She smiled as she leaned over enough to scratch Dogmeat behind his ear. He wagged his tail and gave her a friendly bark. She could see the city of Boston from her spot on top of the old M.I.T. building. The sun was peeking out behind clouds, trying to warm the chilly spring air, but Nora could feel a storm coming. She was ready.

Her Pip-Boy crackled, yet she didn’t move. Her geiger counter started croaking as electricity ripped space apart behind her. 

She still did not move.

“Mother,” Shaun stepped up beside her on the opposite side of Dogmeat.

“Shaun.” Nora answered.

“I’ll admit, I’ve never actually been up to the surface.” She could see him look around wearily out of the corner of her eye. “It’s...not what I expected.”

“It’s not the world we belonged to.” Nora admitted. She thought back to the world they were taken from and wondered what Shaun would have been like if he’d grown up in that time.

“This isn’t the world you belong to.” Shaun corrected. “This is the world I grew up knowing.” He finally turned to her, “You should join me below, mother.”

Nora turned to Shaun. He was nearly double her age, and it showed in his greying hair and wrinkled face. “You know I can’t do that.” Her voice came out weakly, barely above a whisper. Dogmeat nudged her hand and whined. Nora didn’t look at him.

“The people of the Commonwealth need you, I know that now.” Shaun held his hands up to stop Nora’s protest, “But think of all the good WE could do for them.”

Nora continued to shake her head as he tried to reason with her, “No, Shaun--”

“My synths could help rebuild society,” He reasoned.

“And when that’s done what becomes of them?” Nora asked. “More menial labor? More subhuman treatment?” 

“They’re not human, mother, you know that.” Shaun’s jaw tightened. Dogmeat stepped between them to sniff Shaun’s hand. Shaun withdrew his hand sharply, startling Dogmeat who lowered his front half as if expecting play time.

Nora’s heart ached. It reminded her so much of Nate. “They are made from human DNA, they are made to be as human-like as possible, with freewill and thoughts of their own...how does that not make them human?”

“They are still synths underneath it all.” Shaun argued.

“They bleed, they get hungry, they get tired, just like any human.” Nora pointed out, Shaun’s eyes widened in surprise. “All that makes them different is the robotic parts.”

“This isn’t up for debate, mother.” Shaun finally snapped. “Please, consider staying with me.”

Nora felt hot tears burn the corner of her eyes as she frowned at Shaun, “No,” she choked out shaking her head, “and that’s final.” 

Shaun’s shoulders sagged for a moment. He reached out as if to hold her, but then withdrew his hands, as if afraid of touching her. He opened and closed his mouth for a few moments, struggling to find his words. Nora’s heart broke as he returned his hands to his sides as closed fists. “That is...unfortunate.” He finally whispered.

“Shaun,” He raised his dark eyes to look at her pitifully, “I love you.”

“I’m glad I got to know you, mother.” Were Shaun’s last words before the electricity crackled around him and he disappeared. Nora’s geiger counter croaked as the radiation around her spiked. Once it was silent again Nora let out a shaky breath she had been holding.

Dogmeat whined and nudged her leg. She looked at him with a sad smile, hot tears dripping onto the roof under her. 

A storm was coming, but Nora was prepared.


	8. Can you stay?

Nora squinted at the onslaught of rain beating down on the muddy ground. She could hardly see in the darkness of the storm, only when flashes of lightning struck overhead did she see the decayed world around her. The roar of the storm drowned out any other noise. These were not optimal conditions to be traveling in. No visibility, limited hearing, she might as well have painted a target on her back for gunners and raiders to use as shooting practice. Her body felt heavy and she could feel water sloshing around her boots as she ran through the storm. Nora couldn’t remember how she’d gotten so caught off guard by the rain, she didn’t care to remember. What she needed to do now was find shelter. Her gauss rifle was pressed tightly to her chest as she ran, her pockets, heavy with junk and supplies, slapped against her thighs as she ran. Her hair was plastered to her forehead as she scanned her surroundings. Lightning overhead showed she was nowhere near any kind of shelter, not even a cluster of trees.

Her heart started to beat faster. Where was she? She didn’t recognize anything in the storm. Her feet were aching as though she’d been running forever, and her chest felt tight and constricted by her chestplate. Still, she ran. Better to be a moving target than a stagnant one. The ground rumbled underfoot and Nora staggered to stay upright. Thunder loudly cracked directly overhead and she resisted the urge to drop her weapon and cover her ears. Her heart jumped into her throat as the sound persisted and she felt sick. She had to find cover, now! The rain was cold, and persistent as it came down in strong walls, pushing Nora back every time she made any progress. Her feet were starting to stick in the mud, but she continued to struggle against it. She continued to fight. The wind whipped at her like claws ripping at her hair and clothes. She was twisted and torn by the wind, but continued to fight forward. 

She tripped over her own heavy feet and fell to the ground hard. Pain shot from her elbows to her wrists and shoulders, and her knees throbbed from the landing. She struggled to push herself up on all fours, the mud pulling her into the earth. Nora grunted and struggled against the pull, but finally managed to pull herself up. Part of her wanted to scream for help, she had people across the Commonwealth, odds were someone was going to hear her, but the fear of someone else or something else finding her kept her mouth shut. She shivered in the cold wind and realized she’d dropped her rifle in the fall. Nora squinted in the dark, looking for the familiar glow of her gauss rifle, she turned one way and then the other, not moving for fear of kicking the gun further away, but her favorite gun was nowhere to be found.

The ground shook once more and Nora could hear something loud coming at her. She felt like a deer frozen in headlights as lightning flashed above her and revealed a monstrous, black wave rising high above her. She managed to scream before it crashed down at her feet and swept her away. Nora struggled and kicked, looking for any sort of ground or support to anchor herself to. The wind was knocked out of her, her chest felt bruised as water rushed into her lungs, and she realized with a splitting ache that she was drowning!

She forced her eyes open, she twisted under the vicious waves. She swiped her arms out in front of her and followed the bubbles left in their wake. She swam up, her arms struggling to move as though the water was growing thicker. She shimmied her shoulders and held her arms down, yanking her coat off as she continued to kick and propel herself to the surface.

Nora broke the surface of the water and coughed up all the water she had inhaled. She bobbed along the rough waves, gasping for air before another monstrous wave crashed down on her head and forced her back under. Nora struggled once again to break the surface of the water, she wiped at her eyes, realizing her glasses had been knocked off her face to be swept away with the water. She coughed up more water and tried to wipe her hair from her eyes. Her kicked desperately, despite the growing, tired ache in her legs and hips. Nora could barely make out another wave rising in the storm and she took a gulp of air before it crashed down and swept her under again…

“Nora!”

She forced her eyes open and slowly focused on Hancock’s blurry face over her. “Hancock!” She choked out. She turned to the side and coughed until her throat felt raw. She weakly looked around, her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. In fact, she was very sweaty despite the cool early winter wind outside. She took a few deep breaths before she realized that she was gripping Hancock’s arms tightly, her nails digging into his skin. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“Shit, sister,” Hancock helped her sit up, “You must have been having one rough nightmare.” He kept his hands on her arms, holding her up as she swayed, but stayed seated on the edge of her bed a respectful distance away. “What the hell happened?” His onyx eyes looked her over as if afraid she’d fall apart in front of him.

Nora stared at him wide eyed, still not fully awake. “It was awful,” was all she could manage without feeling like she was going to vomit. Her head was spinning, and her heart was still pounding against her ribcage. It was still dark outside, nothing else seemed to have been distrubed in Sanctuary.

“Well,” Hancock shifted to sit beside her on her bed, he wrapped one arm around her and used his free hand to hold her hands on her lap, “I’m here if you...ya know...wanna talk about it.” He looked awkward and stiff trying to comfort her. This was a territory neither of them had explored before. Nora only nodded, trying to calm her heart and steady her breathing. She eventually took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall the head of her bed was against. Hancock kept one arm around her, but moved his other hand over to his own lap. Nora missed its warmth, but didn’t reach back out to him.

After a few minutes of Nora’s deep breathing she turned to Hancock and asked, “What happened?”

Hancock looked as though she’d startled him out of his thoughts, but he cleared his throat and said, “Shit, I mean, I was sleeping and suddenly hear these weird noises.” She watched him, his face blurry and indiscernible, “Then I hear you throwing a fit, so I come to check on you,” Hancock stared at the far wall, “and you’re just tossing and turning and sounding like you can’t breathe.” He took a shaky breath, “and then you screamed...so I tried to wake you up and,” He shrugged his shoulders in a non committal way, “you woke up.”

Nora nodded her head slowly, processing what he’d said, “I had a dream I was lost in the rain,” Hancock turned to watch her, she turned to her hands on her lap, twisting her wedding band on her finger, “Then I was drowning. It...it was...awful.” She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. A pressure was building up behind her brows, “I’m sorry for waking you.” She opened her eyes to look at him.

“I don’t care, sister, but hell you had me freaked.” Hancock forced out a laugh. “Warn a brother next time you decide to have a nightmare.”

“I’ll be sure.” Nora rolled her eyes and lightly elbowed him with a smirk on her face. Hancock chuckled as he leaned his head back against the wall. Nora stared at her lap, her smirk dropping. What was she thinking? She squeezed her eyes shut. Hancock wasn’t interested in her. They were partners, they had each other’s backs, but he didn’t see her the way she saw him. He made that clear everytime he took an extended stay in Goodneighbor. She could live with it, despite what the ache in her chest told her, she could live with them being friends. She could live with the pain as long as it meant he was still in her life. 

“Well,” Hancock stood and stretched, “Think I’ll head back to bed if you’re good.” Before Nora could think about what she was doing, she reached out and grabbed Hancock’s arm. He looked down at her hand on his arm and then at her. Even without her glasses she could see the confusion on his face.

“Can...can you stay?” She hated how pathetic she sounded, but she didn’t want to be alone for the rest of the night. 

Hancock looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but then he clicked his tongue in his cheek and smiled, “How can I resist that face?” Nora ignored how hot her face felt and released his arm. “Alright, scoot over, sister.” He waved her aside. Nora moved to the far side of the bed as Hancock sat on the edge of the bed before turning and laying down. He threw one hand behind his head as a makeshift pillow. Nora kept her eyes on him as she tried to make herself as small as possible when she laid back down. Hancock turned his head to look at her, "Why'ya way over there?" He asked.

"Just," She half buried her face in her pillow, "I invited you to stay, but I want you to have as much room and be as comfortable as possible."

If she could see, she would have seen Hancock roll his eyes. He shifted and held his other arm open, “Come ‘ere.” Nora blinked at him in shock, "Come on," He nodded to the spot beside him. "I don't bite...hard." Nora tried to ignore her pounding chest and reminded herself that she was a grown woman, and that these feelings were for hormonal teenagers, but she moved over and relaxed into his embrace. She laid one of her hands on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her fingertips. The hand that had been behind his head came around and held her hand on his chest, his thumb pressed to her wrist. He took a deep breath, "See? Better, isn't it?"

Nora only hummed in response, not trusting her voice. She closed her eyes, feeling safe when Hancock gave her waist a squeeze, and was eventually lulled to sleep by his gentle breathing.


	9. There is a certain taste to it

Nora swung her legs under her, admiring the view of the sunset from the treehouse in Nuka World’s Safari Adventure zone. She had a Nuka Cola Quantum open beside her, but had hardly taken two sips of it before it sat forgotten. The coasters and rides in the distance were strange silhouettes on a foreign backdrop. 

“Boss, I’m not one to complain—ah hell—we both know that ain’t true, but what the hell are we doing up here?” Porter Gage asked. Nora didn’t look at him, she instead glanced down at her Pip-Boy.

“Five and a half more hours.” She whispered.

“What?” Gage asked.

“Nothing.” She turned back to look at her companion, “Gage,” she gave the wood floor a pat, “come sit with me.”

“You’re askin’ for death sitting on the edge like that.” But he complied. He always did, Nora found. He reminded her so much of Hancock, who had gone back home to “work”, that she had trusted him almost immediately upon her arrival to Nuka World. However, unlike Hancock, Gage let her express her anger and frustration on anything that stood before her. In fact, he embraced and encouraged her to be mean. It didn’t feel good, but Nora liked the attention she garnered everywhere she went in the abandoned amusement park. 

Nora picked up the bottle of Nuka Quantum between them and gave it a tentative sip. Her tongue was blasted with sugar and electrolytes. There was no real-world flavor Nora could compare Quantum to. She could taste a mixture of berries, pomegranate, mint, lime, citrus, and of course (despite over two hundred years passing) that signature Nuka Cola carbonated fizz. 

“Can’t believe you drink that crap.” Gage gave her a long side-eye look.

“It’s not my favorite.” Nora pulled a face, “I never was one for soda. Water, Lemonade, and Wine, were the only things I ever drank...drink.” Gage only gave a grunted laugh as a response.

Hours passed in silence, the sun had long disappeared and the stars had been spilled across the violet sky. 

Nora turned to Gage, “want some?” She held out the glowing Quantum soda.

His one eye fluctuated between narrowed with suspicion and widened in surprise. “Why?” He finally settled on asking.

“I don’t think I’ll finish it, but I don’t want to waste it.” Nora cringed. There were her pre-war habits coming out again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she added quickly, “I just figured I’d offer before I—“ Gage swiped the soda bottle from her hand and tossed it back, chugging at least half the bottle before he sat back forward and swallowed hard. He made a gagging sound and Nora tried to suppress her laughter. 

“There is a certain taste to it.” Gage coughed. He looked at the half empty bottle before chucking it out into the park. She didn’t hear it shatter below.

Through her giggles Nora asked, “What was that all about?” 

“To get you to shut up.” Gage snapped. If Nora hadn’t known better, she would have thought he was upset with her, but she saw the small, teasing smile on his lips and smiled back at him. Her Pip-Boy beeped, indicating it was Midnight and Nora laid back on the floor with a heavy sigh.

“Finally over.” She mumbled.

“What is?” Gage asked curiously.

Nora debated on what to say before she settled on, “My birthday.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” She drummed her fingers on her stomach and tried to ignore how much it churned from the soda. “My second since leaving the vault.” She added, though she wasn’t sure why. Gage stayed quiet for a long time. Nora closed her eyes, exhausted from her day in the maze with the gatorclaw and dealing with all the raider factions. She wanted to go home to Preston and her people, she wanted to see Nick and Piper teaching Curie how to shoot a real gun, she wanted to see Cait and Strong arm wrestle, she wanted to see Deacon, Danse, Dogmeat, Codsworth, Macready and even X6-88. She missed all of her friends. Hell, even though she had come to Nuka World because she was pissed at Hancock and wanted away from their usual spots, she missed him too. Nora wondered what Preston would have thought about Nuka World, if he had ever considered it as a possible settlement. She wondered what Curie’s reaction would have been to all the pre-war memorabilia, though Nora would never have subjected her to raider gangs. Cait would have been right at home, Nora thought, and Macready too. 

Nora jolted awake when she felt something soft under her head. 

“Sorry, boss,” Gage’s voice was quiet. “Didn’t mean to wake ya.”

Nora looked around through her skewed glasses. He’d gotten her all the way back to Fizztop Grille and laid her on the bed. “Gage?” She looked up at him as he finally let her go on the bed.

“Happy Birthday, Boss.”


	10. Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all...this one took me so long...and I didn’t want to stop...

Hancock tried to ignore the tingling in his arm. He had his back pressed against the wall, one arm flung out to keep Nora against the wall beside him, the other clutching his rifle tightly. Every silent breath Nora took raised her chest and in turn sent waves of electricity through Hancock’s arm. 

The floor above them rattled and dust filtered in from the holes above. Something heavy was stalking above them, and Hancock didn’t plan on finding out what. Nora on the other hand tensed up and slipped out from under his arms.

“Nora!” Hancock hissed between his teeth, “shit!” He cursed as he stealthily followed her light footsteps. She was creeping towards a spotlight on the floor, craning her neck back to peer into the hole in the floor above them. Something above them thudded closer and Hancock had just enough time to grab Nora and cover her mouth when a body dropped down the hole. He could feel her scream against his hand and ignored the tingling in his hand, the warmth between his legs, and the twisting in his stomach as Nora gripped his arms. The body landed with a sickening crack and if they weren’t dead before they certainly were now. 

Nora was now shaking, “Let’s just go.” Hancock whispered in her ear, but once again, Nora tensed up and slipped out of his arms. Hancock wondered briefly if anyone knew they were out together and if he could manage to slip away before he got killed and—

Hancock’s heart dropped to his stomach, “Nora!” He hissed.

Nora was climbing up the stairs on all four, silently moving, and never taking her eyes off of where she was headed. Hancock crept over as best as he could, but the bottom step creaked under his weight. Whatever was on the first floor growled and Hancock could hear it sniffing for them. Nora’s wide hazel eyes snapped to look at him and she shook her head. Hancock pointed at her then sharply pointed to the ground beside him, “Get. Back. Here. Now.” He mouthed, but Nora had already turned her head away and had finished climbing the stairs.

His heart was beating so fast, Hancock was sure whatever was in the museum could hear it. Nora finally stood up at the top of the stairs and took her gauss rifle off her back, she checked to see it was loaded, and without another glance at Hancock she disappeared into the museum. Hancock would have bit his knuckle in anticipation if he wasn’t afraid of losing a finger. Why the hell were they in Salem, anyways? Nora had come to Goodneighbor and invited him to join her on a whim. When they wandered up to Salem, Hancock had tried everything in his power to get Nora to turn back home, but it was like she was drawn to this particular building. Hancock knew anything that was chained from the inside was no good, but Nora had persisted and found a basement entrance.

He wanted to follow her footsteps above him, but he also wanted to stay by the stairs in case anything happened and he needed to run to her. In the end, Hancock gripped the railing of the stairs til his knuckles cramped.

Something clattered above and Hancock’s blood ran cold. A roar shattered his eardrums and Hancock realized as his heart stopped beating that there was a Deathclaw in the museum.

There was a Deathclaw up there with Nora.

There was a Deathclaw—

Hancock ran up the stairs two at a time as Nora screamed. He could just barely hear her gun firing as his heart pounded in his ears. He whipped around the top of the stairs through the open door just as the tail of savage Deathclaw whipped by and shattered the corner of a nearby wall he found himself hiding in. Nora was running circles around the beast, something tucked in her arms protectively, she tried to fire another shot off her rifle, but it missed and hit a decayed wall. The roof shuddered overhead and Hancock raised his hands to protect his head as debris fell down.

The Deathclaw roared and shook the whole building. Hancock watched Nora back herself in the opposite corner, “Nora! Get outta there!” He screamed before he could stop himself.

The Deathclaw’s head whipped around to look at him. Blood and drool dripped from its thick fangs and Hancock prayed it hadn’t gotten a bite of Nora. Its dumb eyes narrowed at him and Hancock swallowed the rock forming in his throat.

“Hancock!” He looked across the room at her. Her hat was long gone, her hair was matted down to her forehead, and her eyes had gone as big as saucers. She was breathing heavily, but managed to shout out, “Run!” Before the Deathclaw roared and lunged for him. Hancock was just able to slip out of the corner as the Deathclaw slammed head first into the wall.

Nora fired off another shot from her rifle, blasting the wall beside the Deathclaw’s head. The building shook.

“Nora! Don’t shoot! This whole place’ll come down!” Hancock jumped over a pile of dismantled mannequins (or what he hoped was mannequins) and ducked behind a wall junction that was probably a separate room at some point before the walls came down. The Deathclaw roared and Hancock could hear it charge at Nora. He could barely hear her footsteps as she made her way back to the door he’d just come from.

“Hancock!” She sounded so terrified.

Hancock took a few deep breaths and fished through his threadbare pockets for something to calm his nerves.

Jet!

Perfect!

Hancock took a puff, the chem working immediately as time seemed to slow down. He turned the corner and ran past the Deathclaw, just barely missing it’s claws as it swiped out at Nora. He grabbed her as he ran and nearly threw her over his shoulder as he tackled her into the back room with the stairwell.

The jet quickly wore off and Nora slipped from his arms. Whatever she was carrying she tied up in her coat. Hancock could see her white blouse was soaked through with sweat and blood, and tried not to think about her soft skin underneath and—

“Come on!” Nora grabbed his hand with her free one and took off down the stairs. She slipped on the last two and Hancock had to grab the railing to keep her from dragging them both down. Nora let out the most colorful string of curses Hancock had ever heard. The Deathclaw was tearing the walls apart behind them, swiping its long, clawed arms out to reach them. 

“Come on, up and at’em!” Hancock tried to yank Nora to her feet, but she screamed in pain and Hancock let her go. “Shit! Nora?”

“My ankle!” She pulled herself up with a huff, “I’ll stimpack it later—come on!” She hobbled ahead of him. Hancock ran after her. 

He didn’t dare glance behind them as the wall finally gave way and the Deathclaw attempted to squeeze down the stairs. Something thick hit his hip and Hancock lost contact with the ground as he went flying through a wall. Nora’s blood curdling scream shook Hancock out of the splitting headache he had.

Whatever Nora had been clutching had been flung across the room and she’d been slammed into the floor so hard she’d actually made an indentation in the dirt and cement. Hancock could hardly believe his eyes. Nora had her hands on the Deathclaw’s jaw, holding it inches away from her face. Her scream turned from one of fear to one of pure rage and Hancock swore he heard an angelic choir sing out as Nora turned the beasts head one way, rolled the other, and in one motion; grabbed her rifle and unload a shot in the Desthclaw’s mouth. Nora grabbed her coat and items from the floor and took off running, not waiting for the Deathclaw to shake off the sting of its new wound. Hancock took off after her, watching as she flung herself on the ground outside the museum, she turned over and crawled to the door as Hancock jumped out.

“Shut the door! Shut the door! Shut the door!” Nora screamed in a panic, Hancock turned on his heels and helped Nora slam the heavy iron doors shut. For extra measure he slid the metal bar across the doors, locking the roaring beast inside.  
The door rattled and banged, but didn’t give way.

Nora threw herself back on the grass, breathing heavily. Hancock was finally able to get a look at her, and noticed how injured she was. There was a bite mark around her shoulder and chest where blood was utterly gushing from with no sign of stopping any time soon, and Hancock noticed how she kept a hand on the leg that had twisted in her fall. Her hands were also probably injured from holding the Deathclaw’s jaw open, and who knew what else was injured. 

Hancock cursed and knelt down by Nora’s wadded up coat, he pulled it between them and Nora winced.

“Careful.” She pleaded.

Hancock looked at the coat curiously and undid the knots she had made around it. A spotted Deathclaw egg rolled out and Hancock’s jaw dropped. “You stole a Deathclaw egg?? What the hell were you thinking?!” He would have slapped her if she wasn’t so injured. Nora didn’t answer him right away, “Nora?!” He shouted.

“The Mr. Handy in Diamond City offered me money for one!” She finally snapped.

Hancock felt as though he’d been slapped. “Wait, you went to Diamond City?” Nora absolutely hated Diamond City, almost as much as he did, or so he thought.

“Look, I didn’t realize—“

“That’d you’d been sent to your death?” Hancock shouted as he rifled through Nora’s coat pockets.

“Would you stop treating me like a child?” Nora snapped angrily at him. “We’re alive, okay? And if you had just stayed put—“

“Oh, so this is my fault?” Hancock growled. He found a few stimpacks and—without much mercy or warning—yanked Nora’s boot off and jabbed it into her swollen ankle. Nora let out another colorful string of curses.

“Hancock!” She glared at him. “You didn’t have to come with me.” She added darkly under her breath.

“Well if I knew we were walking into a death trap for some uppity robot I wouldn’t have!” That was a lie and Hancock knew it.

Nora turned away from him, he tried to grab her and stimpack her shoulder, but she hissed in pain and stood up. “Fine.” She snatched her boot off the ground and limped over to the ancient stone wall that was still standing, “go home.” She ordered, leaning against the wall. “Go live your cushy life as mayor. Go enjoy your safety.” She waved her boot around, “Go on, then!” She shouted. 

Hancock took a breath, infuriated with his companion. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He finally snapped. “Some days things seem to be going great!” He yanked her boot away as she struggled to put it on, “Then the next you act like you don’t trust me, or don’t care about our wellbeing.”

“OUR wellbeing?” Nora asked incredulously.

Hancock was thankful he couldn’t blush, “your wellbeing—my wellbeing—whatever!! You know what I meant! You’re taking jobs from assholes you shouldn’t trust and not telling me all the details of these little missions. You’re putting us both in danger by doing that!”

“The whole reason I didn’t tell you is because I knew you’d be upset about helping someone from Diamond City!” Nora shouted back at him.

“And I have every damn right to be!” His throat was growing raw.

“The money is good, but ya wanna know the details so bad? I might not even give the egg to that Mr. Handy! I’ve heard that the egg belongs to a matriarch Deathclaw and it’s been terrorizing settlements not far from here.” Nora explained. “I might return the egg and see what happens. Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me.”

“You’re literally insane, you know that?” Hancock growled. He held her boot up out of reach as she lunged for it. Nora hissed in pain as he pushed her back against the wall and he immediately felt bad as she grabbed her still bleeding shoulder. He sighed and knelt down before her.

“I don’t want to see you die, sister.” Hancock lowered his voice. “You do too much good to die.” He tapped her foot and she raised it for him. “The people of the Commonwealth need you,” he slipped her boot back on, “Garvey needs you.” He stood up, “Cait, Piper, and Curie need you.” He stepped closer to her, Nora tightened her grip on herself, as if she was trying to shrink away from him. “I need you.” He admitted to himself. He tried to say it out loud, but couldn’t as his mouth had gone dry. “Lemme patch you before we start moving.” He said instead.

Nora stood still as Hancock gathered more stimpacks from her coat. She was silent as he took her gloves off and inspected the teethmarks on her palms and fingers. He used one stimpack for both hands, making sure she could still flex her fingers to move the medicine through her blood. She started to look tired and was breathing heavier by the time Hancock had gathered the courage to look at her shoulder. The bite mark went from the base of her neck, down around one breast,the upper part of her arm, and around her shoulder blade.

“I’ve gotta get to it,” Hancock reasoned when Nora grabbed his hand that had wandered to the black choker holding her blouse closed around her neck. Her sad, tired eyes stared at him for a moment before her shaky hands finally let go of his.

He undid the tie and Nora held her head high out of his way as he slipped it off her neck. It was discarded into the grass at their feet. Hancock tried to steady his hands as he unbuttoned her blouse. He’d seen naked bodies a hundred times, he’d seen injured bodies a thousand times more, why was he scared to touch her skin just a little.  
Maybe it was because Nora’s breathing hitched, or maybe it was because he was so aware of how close they were (nearly hip to hip), or how, even with how casually intimate they were, this was a whole new level of intimate. He was, after all, essentially undressing her. Nora swallowed and looked anywhere but at him. Hancock shook his head to clear his mind. Nora had made it clear she didn’t care about him that way, she was always letting him run home to the girls who could give him what he needed, but for once, he wondered if they were what he wanted. What if that crazy Mama Murphy was right? He glanced at Nora’s lips as he undid the last button. They were split, with blood dribbling down her chin, but there was something about their pre-war shape and softness that left Hancock’s mouth dry and his stomach hot. He tried not to ogle at her chest as he pushed the blouse off her shoulders and let it hang from her elbows. Nora wasn’t looking at him, but her breathing had picked up, so he knew that despite her blood loss she was still aware of his actions. 

Hancock raised her injured arm, and with a small verbal warning, jabbed the first stimpack into her chest. He lowered the arm gently and turned her around, he ignored the curve of her back and how her hips brushing his waist as she turned made him dizzy as he gave her a second jab in her shoulder. 

“Hold on.” He instructed, he wrapped one arm around her good shoulder and grabbed her chin in his hand. He turned her head up and away from her injured side and jabbed the last stimpack into her neck. The bleeding finally slowed and, still behind her, Hancock helped her slip her blouse back on.

“I’m sorry.” Nora finally spoke. She didn’t face him as she buttoned her blouse up.

“Me too.” Hancock gave her some space as she got dressed and added silently, “Because I am hopelessly in love with you, and don’t want to lose you.”


	11. It’s not always like this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some heavy themes (suicide and self harm) but also gets really smutty. So, be warned.

Hancock noticed something was off. Nora wasn’t smiling as much, wasn’t laughing as much, hell, she waved her normal gaggle of kids away last night when they came to her for stories. She didn’t say anything, so Hancock didn’t press, but her distant eyes and absent expression worried him as they packed to head out. 

“Hey, sister?” He called down the hallway, Nora hummed to let him know she heard him, “not one to pry, but, everything straight?” Nora didn’t answer. He peeked down the hallway, “Nora?”

“Hmm? What?”

Hancock squinted in confusion. He crept down the hall and found Nora wasn’t packing, she wasn’t even dressed in her normal outfit. Her coat and chest plate were discarded on her lounge chair, her boots were thrown under her bed, and her blouse was half done up. Nora was absentmindedly fiddling with one of the buttons just under her chest and staring into the distance.

“Shit, Nora,” she jumped as he spoke, “you ain’t even dressed yet.” 

“Oh,” she quickly buttoned her blouse up and shook her red curls loose, “sorry. I’ve just been really,” she chewed on her words as she scooted off her bed and walked over to her mirror, “I dunno.” She eventually sighed. She bent over to watch herself tie her choker around her neck. Nora moved around quickly now, as if making up for lost time.

“Hey, hey,” Hancock gently grabbed her shoulders, “here.” He grabbed her chest plate and helped her strap it on, then he grabbed her coat and did the same, forcing himself to pull his fingers away from her skin. She pulled her hair out from under her coat and flipped it over her shoulder. 

“Thanks.” Nora spoke quietly.

“Nora... Hey, sister,” he grabbed her arms once more to make her stop and look up at him. They were roughly the same height, but him being in boots and her being barefoot made Hancock seem much taller than her. “Stop.” He gently shook her once. 

Nora took a breath, “I thought we were going?” She asked him.

“We are. We will, but,” he guided her back to her bed and sat her down. He sat beside her, his hands running down her arms to hold her hands, “talk to me.”

Nora blinked at him for a moment before she took a shuddering breath, “Hancock,” her voice cracked. Hancock’s heart just about broke with her next question, “Do you ever just want to end it all?”

Hancock squeezed her hands, “Is that what you’re thinking about?” He avoided answering. Nora didn’t look at him, instead she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. Hancock moved closer so she wasn’t straining her neck and he wrapped one arm around her. She didn’t answer him. “Nora?”

She was silent.

And then she took a shaky breath and whispered, “This isn’t my world. Everyone is gone. Everything is gone,” he could feel tear drops falling on his hand that was still holding hers. “I’m just doing what people tell me to do, Hancock, I,” Nora raised her head. Her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks were wet with tears, her nose and cheeks were blotchy red, and her lips quivered. “I don’t belong here. Hell, I shouldn’t be alive!” She sat back, Hancock’s arm falling from around her to prop himself up on her bed. “I’ve lost,” she swallowed hard and shook her head, “so much. I’ve lost everything, and I,” Nora pulled one of her hands away to scratch at her neck, and that was when Hancock saw them.

The dozens upon dozens of thin red lines around her neck, and the bruise she was trying to hide behind her blouse.

“Babes—Nora.” He took her chin in his hand, he lifted and turned her head one way and then the other, inspecting the damage she had done to herself.

Nora let out a pitiful laugh, “Sad, isn’t it? I can’t even kill myself properly.”

Hancock was shocked, “Why?” He asked. Sure, he had no room to talk, he rotted his insides and outsides with chems so much to forget his worries and problems that Hancock sometimes couldn’t recognize himself. Sure he had his moments, his days, when he thought about how death would be a permanent solution to his many...many problems. It was an easy way out, something he could always fall back on if shit really hit the fan. But, Nora? General of the Minutemen, savior of the Commonwealth, best friend to literally anyone who met her...the woman who gave so many people a new chance at life—Hancock paused.

He wanted to smack himself. How had he not seen the signs? He knew them well, why did he just assume Nora was alright because she was all smiles? He should have been there for her, but he was stuck in his own oblivious cloud of work and chems that he’d nearly lost her.

Nora hadn’t answered him.

Hancock pulled her close, pressing his forehead to hers, her red curls tickled his face, “Why didn’t you say something to me? Christ, Nora, I know these feelings all too well—“

“I didn’t want to bother you with my problems.” Nora whispered, tears still flowing down her face in an endless stream. “You have your own burdens to bare, you don’t need mine.”

“I want them.” Hancock insisted, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and kept their foreheads pressed together. “Nora, we’re partners. We trust each other with our lives...so trust me.” He swallowed hard. He felt very vulnerable as Nora’s watery hazel eyes bore into his onyx eyes. She slowly closed her eyes and nodded weakly. “Is there anymore I should know about?”

Nora slowly pulled out of his arms and undid the choker around her neck. With the collar of her blouse open he could see the angry bruise of whatever she had tied around her neck. Hancock tried to withhold his surprise as Nora undid her chest plate and blouse in front of him, and then he tried to hold back his shock and fear as he saw her exposed chest and torso. 

His eyes flickered to the Deathclaw bite mark scar on her shoulder, but his focus kept coming back to the dozens of cuts across her body. Some were thin, angry red lines, others were thick and bruised. She was completely destroying herself. And Hancock hadn’t noticed.

“It’s not always like this.” Nora whispered as she started to button her blouse back up again. “Sometimes it’s cuts, sometimes it’s burns...sometimes it’s even dirty water or putrid food.” She continued. “It was a problem before the war too...but...” she examined herself and more tears fell, “never like this...”

Hancock’s hand moved of its own accord and he only realized what he was doing when Nora hissed in pain. He had touched the longest, thickest diagonal cut that ran from just under her right breast to her left hip. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch, and he could see her shaking under his fingertips. The cut, like most of the others, had scabbed over and turned an angry red as Hancock stroked the skin. He didn’t stop himself as his hands wandered from the cuts to other parts of her skin, and before long, he was rubbing nonsensical shapes into her body with his hands. He pawed at her hips, pulling her closer inch by inch, and Hancock grew hard as he realized Nora hadn’t pushed his hand away. In fact, she was staring at him as though she was waiting to see what he would do. He swallowed hard and took a chance. He got up on the bed on his knees and moved closer to her. Nora leaned away as Hancock gently applied pressure to her stomach. He had one hand on her back and one on her stomach as he helped her lay down. 

“Hancock?” Her voice was quiet.

“But it is now.” He murmured as he climbed over her and pushed her blouse more open.

“What?” Nora questioned, her face was red, but her tears had stopped.

Hancock was looking at her scarred body, “You said ‘it’s not always like this’,” he looked up at her, “but it is now.” He moved backwards so he was over her legs and leaned forward so his head was lined up with with her stomach. “So let me show you how much people can care.”

“Hancock, what are you—“ Nora gasped as Hancock laid a soft kiss on the thickest cut.

“I know how you feel,” Hancock said against her skin, “not a day goes by I don’t think about offing this ugly mug.” He glanced up at her, “but there are people who love you, people who will be completely lost without you, people who want you to be happy,” as he listed them off he repeatedly kissed her bare stomach. She was quivering under him and Hancock was dying to grind his hips into hers—

No! He needed to take this slow. He wanted to take this slow.

His kissing turned to sucking as he found uncut, soft, cool flesh to bring between his teeth. Nora’s body arched as he tentatively bit down on the skin just above her right hip. He could hear her nails grip into the mattress under her and feel her body shake with every breath. He resisted the urge to smirk. 

“Hancock,” Nora weakly called out.

He raised his head to look at her, “yes?” He couldn’t hold back a smile.

“What about you?” She asked.

“What about me?” He repeated, confused.

“Well, you said you feel the same way, yet, you realize that there are people who also depend on you, and love you, and would be completely lost without you?” She tried to sit up, but Hancock moved forward to hover over her. He tried to ignore how her body was growing warmer and he was growing harder.

“Ain’t nobody need me the way the people need you.” Hancock justified.

Nora was silent for a moment, and just when he thought the matter had been dropped, she quietly whispered, “I need you.” Hancock blinked in surprise. “Hancock,” Nora wrapped her arms around his neck as he leveled his head with hers, “I—“ she hesitated, “you are why I get up every day. You may infuriate me,” he chuckled and she finally smiled, “but I wouldn’t be here today if you weren’t here with me.”

“Well, that’s a humbling compliment there.” Hancock pressed their foreheads together, “so I guess that means we’ve gotta keep each other going, huh?”

“Guess so, oh darn.” Nora rolled her eyes.

“Which brings me back to this,” he pushed himself back down to her stomach.

“What are you—“ Nora began to ask.

“Taking care of these.” He began to find the smaller cuts and apply kisses to them as well. 

Nora hummed, “right, because that’s taking care of them—“ she gasped and bit back a scream as Hancock lowered his tongue onto her stomach. Her hands had gone from gripping the mattress to gripping his shoulders, and Hancock loved the feel of her nails in his skin. He traced his tongue from her belly button, up to her bra. Hancock narrowed his eyes at the torturous fabric, but was grateful to find it was clasped in the front and not the back. With a smirk, Hancock kissed the sensitive skin just under her breasts as his hands swiftly unclasped her bra.

“Hancock, we really shouldn’t—“

“Do you want me to stop?” He interrupted her. He was ready to drop everything and have things go back to how they were if that was what she wanted. Her hazel eyes were wide, but she bit her lip and slowly shook her head. “Then trust me.” The bra was unclasped, but still covering her—for now—and Hancock left it that way. Nora was squirming under him and it was driving Hancock mad. He grind his hips into hers and Nora let out a sound that nearly made him feral. Without any warning, he plunged his head down and captured her unsuspecting lips with his. He hungrily ate her up, and was shocked when she returned the fervor. Hancock groaned in surprise when Nora pressed her hips up against his. Panting through their kiss, Hancock cupped one of her breasts and squeezed it. Nora nearly squealed and Hancock couldn’t take it. He moved back down and tossed her bra open. Nora was quicker than he gave her credit for, and as her tossed her bra open, she sat up just enough to completely strip her top half of all clothing. Hancock pushed her back down, took one of her breast in his mouth, and used one hand to played with her other breast. Nora was breathing heavily now, and Hancock could feel her warm breath on him as he sucked on one nipple and pinched the other. Hancock cautiously used his teeth to squeeze the nipple in his mouth and Nora let out a moan that sent heat through his chest and made his cock ache. 

He gasped in shock as Nora’s hands released his shoulders and undid his flag sash. In one swift motion that made Hancock’s head spin, Nora whipped his sash off him and had undone his pants.

“Last chance.” Hancock warned her. He could feel her hand through his pants.

Nora groaned in frustration as he pulled away from her, “John!” She moaned.

That was enough for him, and he undid her belt and yanked her pants down. She was soaked!

Hancock had to restrain himself from just sticking himself in her and going to town. Nora wasn’t one of his touring girls, no, he was going to take his time and enjoy this, and he was going to make sure she enjoyed this too. He smirked when she sputtered in shock as he lowered his face to her crotch. She tried to persuade him otherwise, but Hancock ignored her and licked the growing wet spot on her underwear once. 

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

He moved the soaked fabric aside and took in her glistening cunt. God, she was driving him feral and he wasn’t even inside yet. Nora was shaking, and she screamed his name as he sucked her clit and stuck two fingers in her wet hole. He flicked his tongue over her clit as he pumped his fingers in and out. Nora’s back arched and she moaned for more, which Hancock happily obliged. He dared to stick a third finger in.

And then a fourth.

It wasn’t enough to satisfy Nora.

Giving her clit one last good suck, Hancock pushed himself up and positioned his rock hard cock at the entrance of her throbbing cunt. “Nora,” he looked up at her, “are you—“

“John Hancock, I swear if you do not fuck me right now, I will—“

Hancock didn’t let her finish her threat as he slipped entirely into her.


	12. What if I don’t see it?

They weren’t exactly ignoring each other. Sure, during the day Nora avoided him like he’d gone feral, but he just assumed she needed to get used to their new situation. After all, going from casual friends to nightly fuck buddies in one day probably gave people of her constitution whiplash. Still, it hurt a little. Hancock was too prideful to tell anyone, but it was starting to chip at his ego. And it was the small things that got him, too, like when she would turn her shoulders away from him while they were talking to someone. Or when he’d offer her a hand, she would reject it, but then turn around and ask someone else for help. Or even when she’d already be out of bed in the morning when he woke up. Almost like she didn’t want to see him.

Finally fed up with her tinkering with her Power Armor and only half paying attention to him, Hancock stalked off to the community house to find Mama Murphy. “Hey, crazy lady,” he waved to get her attention as he entered.

Mama Murphy raised a balding eyebrow at him, “whatcha need, kid?”

“You said you knew I,” his throat tightened all of a sudden.

Mama Murphy smirked and leaned back in her chair. “And?” She asked.

“Do you know if the feeling is mutual?” Hancock asked sheepishly.

Mama Murphy laughed, “Ah kid, anyone with eyes can see that it’s mutual.”

“Yeah, well, what if I don’t see it?” Hancock stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Mama Murphy shook her head, “Nah, kid. She does. She’s just holding on to a lot of pain. Makes it hard for her to accept it.” Nora couldn’t have been holding on to too much considering how easy it was for her to accept his—

“Maybe you should consider helping her let go.” Mama Murphy advised.

Hancock nodded, then fished out a mostly empty pack of orange mentats and tossed it on her lap. “Thanks lady.”

“Anytime kid,” Mama Murphy snatched up the box and tucked it in her jacket before anyone could see.

Hancock wandered over to Nora’s work station. Danse and Macready were both helping Nora with her Power Armor. “Any more adhesive?” She asked Macready, her and Danse’s hands both applying pressure to a joint.

“Fresh out, boss.” Macready shook his head after rifling through the various toolboxes.

“Damn.” Nora thought for a moment, then noticed him standing there, “Hancock! Perfect timing,” she turned to Danse, “we can put this down for now,” Danse counted them down and they removed a frame from the torso of the power armor. “We’ll head out and find some more supplies.” She smiled at him. Hancock nearly melted, but he kept his composure in front of the other men.

“Are you sure, soldier? I can accompany you if you’d like—“ Danse offered.

“Cool it, pal,” Macready gave Danse a pat on the shoulder, “Boss is already spoken for.” He gave Hancock a knowing wink.

Sly dog.

“I’ll be fine, Danse, but thank you.” Nora smiled, “we’ll be back before you know it.” She waved them both off and started off towards her house.

“So, got a place in mind?” Hancock asked.

“Truthfully?” She glanced back at him, but waited until they were in her house with the door closed, “No clue, but I am tired of being here. It’s time we finally hit the road.” Hancock followed her into her room and watched her change from her mechanic’s overalls to her normal getup. 

“Everything alright?” He asked before he could think about it.

Nora looked at him and gave him a sad smile, “I will never be a hundred percent better,” she looked him up and down, “but with you? I’m pretty darn close to that.”


	13. I never knew it could be this way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another smutty chapter, read at risk, although there is some cute stuff in the beginning so...

Nora fiddled with Nate’s ring, as she often did when she thought about him. And she felt like she was always fiddling with it because she thought about him near constantly as of late. She was currently sitting on the roof of one of her neighbors houses, hiding from the people of Sanctuary, Preston, and Hancock. 

Her stomach twisted.

She loved Hancock. She accepted that when she woke up the morning after the first time they’d had sex. But part of her felt horrible for loving him because she still loved Nate.

Nate was an amazing husband and one of her best friends. Her friend Jenny had set them up on a blind date and, even though she never admitted it to anyone, she was immediately smitten with fresh-out-of-bootcamp Nate. He was funny, still had his small hometown charm, and despite being in the military their morals matched well. Nate was wonderful to her, so when he’d asked her to wait for him, she complied with little hesitation. His return from deployment was less than ideal, and Nora had no clue how she survived his months and months of rehab, physical therapy, and PTSD therapy. The screams, the weaponized everyday objects, the threats on her life, any of those would have been enough to make a sane woman walk. But Nora stayed. She stayed because who else would be there when Nate woke from a night terror, screaming the names of his slaughtered brothers-in-arm? Who else would be there when his eyes got vacant and he refused to eat, bathe, or sleep? Who else would be patient enough to sit by him through the good and the bad? Life was less than perfect, but it worked for them.

Nora’s vision went blurry, but she didn’t bother to wipe her tears away. She saw her scarred arms and thought back to Hancock’s reaction. It had so painfully reminded her of Nate’s reaction to the same scars all those years ago. 

Nora squeezed her eyes shut. What felt like just a few years ago was actually closer to two hundred and fifteen years ago. She took a deep, shaky breath and continued down her spiraling path.

She knew Nate would want her to be happy. She knew that. And yet, it still felt wrong of her to be happy with Hancock. Maybe it was because she wasn’t one hundred percent sure if he loved her or just the sex, but something always stopped Nora from giving Hancock everything. She could share her bed, she would have sex with him, she’d watch his back, but would they ever be close the way she and Nate were?

“Of course not,” Nora told herself, “not when you go ignoring him after sex. Hell, he probably thinks you’re only into the sex.” She pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes. When she was twenty she thought she’d have her life together in her thirties, but now, she wasn’t sure anyone had anything together.

“General?” Preston’s voice startled Nora out of her thoughts.

“Wha—Jesus, Preston,” she laid a hand to her heart, which was thumping wildly behind her ribs, “What is it?” She restrained herself from snapping at him.

“Just,” Preston eyed her curiously, “checking up on you. Hancock wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She looked over towards her house, Hancock was inside, lounging on the couch with his head back. “Probably doing chems.” Nora thought to herself. “I’m fine.” She reassured Preston. “Thank you.”

“Well, alright ma’am, if you’re—“

“Actually, Preston, could you help me with something?” Nora asked before she could stop herself.

Preston stopped from turning away and turned back towards her, “General?”

“I really just need an opinion.” She nodded clarified. “If not, I can get Hancock to—“

“Preston?” Sturges walked over, “think you can help me with—“ he caught sight if Nora on the roof, “Nora? What are—am I interrupting something.”

“Actually, Sturges—“ Preston began.

“No, Sturges.” Nora reassured him, her heart felt like a rabbit fit to burst from her chest. “Thank you, Preston.” Preston opened his mouth to say something, but Nora turned and slid down the roof towards a fall tree trunk that was leaning against the house. Nora climbed down with ease and walked back to her house through the backyards.

“Hancock?” She called as she walked in through the car port door. 

Hancock hummed in response.

“Could you,” she steeled her nerves, “could you help me with something?”

He groaned as he pulled his head up straight, vapor from the jet he had taken was still rising from his mouth and nose holes. “Whatcha need?” He asked.

Nora felt Nate’s ring, heavy in her pocket, and she flipped it between her fingers. “It’s more of a few decision making things, really.” Nora stalled. Hancock only nodded for her to go on. Nora took a breath, “First off, would you rather receive a hand-me-down or already used gift, or would you rather have something new?”

Hancock furrowed his nonexistent brows at her, “Why?”

“Just a question.” Nora answered quickly.

“Don’t think there are many “new” gifts left in the Commonwealth, babes,” he leaned his head back, “used is fine.” He waved a nonchalant hand at her.

“Then,” she swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe she was doing this, why was she doing this, she should just leave things be— “Can you hold onto something for me?”

“Sure.” Hancock answered, his eyes were closed, as if he were trying to go back to sleep. Even though it was almost noon.

“John,” his head snapped up and his eyes opened, “please, take this seriously.”

“First name? Damn, I must be in trouble.” He sat forward, “got my attention.” He nodded at her.

Nora walked over to him and, with shaky legs, kneeled down before him. “Hancock. I don’t know where we stand. Everything is so confusing right now...but I love it!” She added quickly, “I mean,” she winced when he raised a confused brow at her, “I love being with you. You’ve always had my back, literally in some cases. You’ve helped me go on countless wild goose chases. You’ve given me a reason to wake up every day and work towards a better future.”

“That’s all good and well, but where’s this coming from?” Hancock interrupted her rambling.

Nora felt hot and cold all at once and took a calming breath. “Hancock.”

“Nora.” He teased.

“John,” Nora gave him a pointed look. He held his hands up in defense, a smug smirk on his lips. “It may be my pre-war views, but I need to know something.” Nora was looking anywhere but at Hancock at this point. Her hand was so tightly closed around Nate’s ring that Nora was afraid she was bending it. After an agonizingly long silence, Nora said, “Hancock do you—“

“I love you.” 

Nora’s mouth went dry, she refused to look at Hancock for fear of this being a cruel joke. Unfortunately, Hancock grabbed her chin with his index and thumb and turned her head to face him. “Nora? Is that okay?”

She didn’t realize she was crying again, “Yes.”

Hancock nodded and let her go. He leaned back. “Alright. Anything else you—“ he stopped dead when Nora pressed her hands into his. “What’s this?” He asked as Nora forced her hand open.  
Her wedding ring shone and glinted in his hand. Nora was thankful she and Nate both had simply wedding bands with no jewels or diamonds. 

“It’s a wedding band.” Nora said, “a wedding ring. Mine. And you don’t have to wear it or anything, but I’d like for you to hold onto it.” She was rambling again, “That ring has my whole heart, and I’d like it if you would at least keep it safe.” Hancock surveyed the ring, he was scrawny enough that it slipped onto his finger with ease.

He cocked his head one way and then the other as he looked at it. “Huh. I never knew it could be this way.” He mumbled.

“What?” Nora dared to ask, She stealthily stuck Nate’s ring onto her finger, replacing where hers once sat. 

“Love.” He paused and then smirked at her, “usually when one person says it, the other person responds.”

Nora felt her face grow red, “well—i mean—of course I—“ she sputtered, Hancock cut her off with a kiss. Nora’s heart skipped a beat and calmed down. “Oh no you don’t,” she mumbled as Hancock pulled away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rose up to straddle him on the couch, pressing her lips to his.

“Hah, there she is. Good morning, Sunshine.” Hancock mumbled against her lips.

“Oh, shut up.” She smiled, “Good morning.” Nora mumbled back. She turned her head and kissed Hancock’s jaw just under his ear. He responded with a shiver and a hand on her ass. He squeezed her cheeks and then spread them as much as he could. Nora giggled and pressed her hips to his, feeling him getting hard between her legs. She smiled in their kiss and Hancock continued to play with her ass. She let out a squeak of surprise when he gave her ass a hard slap. Hancock chuckled when she jumped at the contact, and he reached one hand up to her back to keep her pressed up against him. 

“Well looky here,” Hancock grinned up at her, “General Nora of the Commonwealth’s Minutemen, strutting around town commando style,” Nora blushed dark red as Hancock’s tongue ran over her stiff nipples through her blouse. “I dig it, emperor.” He laughed into her breast.

He finally released her ass and let her sit back down on his lap, but he gave her no time to relax as he used his now freed hands to cup her breasts. Nora hummed in content as Hancock pressed in her nipples and gave them a few twists. 

“We should probably move this to the room.” Nora glanced at the open bay window of her living room.

“Probably.” Hancock shrugged nonchalantly as he pushed her coat off her shoulders. “In a bit.” He practically ripped open her blouse to get to her breast.

Nora gasped at the cold air on her nipples, but immediately melted when Hancock cupped one breast and stuck the other in his mouth. She could feel herself getting wetter by the second as his tongue flicked and teased her nipple. She began to grind her hips against his as he switched sides. “Hancock, we really should—“

“Ah-ah-ah, miss emperor,” Hancock teased, “you started this.”

“Wha—how did I start this?” Nora asked.

“By walking around without a bra,” Hancock fought with her pants for a moment and Nora turned her head away when two of his fingers felt her wet slit, “ahhh, and no underwear either.” He kissed her neck, sucking and biting the sensitive flesh.

“Please,” Nora pleaded, “what if people—“ she had to bite her lip to keep from shouting as Hancock teasing slipped two fingers into her cunt.

“What was that?” Hancock jokingly asked his fingers slowly dragged in and out of her pussy, “sorry, Sunshine, I couldn’t—“

Nora was about to go crazy, her legs were shaking, and though she didn’t want to she pulled herself up off his lap. She was still straddling him, but she was leaned over him, breathing heavy.

“Alrighty, time to have you to myself!” In one swift motion Hancock lifted Nora onto his hips and stood up. He let her slid back onto her feet and started pulling her to the bedroom when Nora felt emboldened by the security of the hallway and stopped Hancock in his tracks. 

He made several confused noises as Nora kneeled down and untied his sash. But those noises quickly turned to moans of pleasure when Nora released his cock from his pants and took it down her throat. His hands found their way into her hair, holding it back out of her face as she took his length deeper and deeper down her throat. “Ohhh my god,” she heard him whisper, his knees and hips shook, and Nora smirked with his dick in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around just under the head and Hancock’s grip on her hair grew tighter. She used one hand to steady herself on the wall behind him and the other to pump what she couldn’t fit in her mouth. Hancock’s cock throbbed and she could feel him coming close to climax just as she lightly pulled her mouth away from him. His onyx eyes looked almost pleadingly down at her, but Nora wasn’t finished with him. She licked the head of his cock, and teased the sensitive skin under it as she slowly started giving him a hand job. Hancock groaned as he bit his lip. Nora glanced up at him and didn’t break eye contact as she slowly took his entire length into her mouth. She was getting wet just feeling him twitch snd throb at her actions. 

“God, you’re beautiful,” she could hear Hancock moan as she sucked on his cock and started to rub her clit. 

She edged him twice more before Hancock couldn’t take it and forced her to stand. He kissed her, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth. Nora lightly bit his tongue and Hancock groaned, pulling her into the bedroom where he pushed her onto the bed.

They didn’t bother undressing unless an article of clothing got in their way. He was in her and thrusting deep inside before she was completely ready, but that only made her clit more sensitive when he reached down and rubbed it.

Nora reached up to link her hands behind his neck and pull hm down into a kiss. “John,” she mumbled against his lips.

Hancock moaned and thrusted harder into her, “Sunshine, I’m so—“

“John,” she tearfully looked at him, “I love you.”

Hancock’s body kept moving, but he stared at her. “You do?” 

Nora almost laughed at his reaction, but instead she smiled and nodded. Hancock smiled and dove down to capture her lips with his. “I want to try something,” she whispered against his lips.

“Kinky stuff already?” Hancock teased.

Nora rolled her eyes, but with a push she was able to slip Hancock out of her pussy and push him back so he was laying down. Nora crawled on top of him, giving his cock a much needed suck as she went, and she straddled his lap once more. She watched joyfully as his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head when she slid him back inside. Nora controlled their pace, keeping it nice and slow, building the heat, and pressure, and passion as she moved her hips and laid soft kisses on Hancock’s lips, jaw, and neck.

“This is nice,” Hancock groaned as Nora alternated her pace.

“This is love.” Nora purred.

“I never knew it could be this way.”


	14. I can’t come back

Nora had sent word to Gage a few days ago to leave Nuka World and meet her in her neck of the Commonwealth ‘for a raid’. She’d hoped that was enough to get him far from what was about to happen.

“You alright, Sunshine?” Hancock nudged her out of her thoughts.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, yeah, just...” she thought back to her time in Nuka World. Preston had sent her off to cool down, said he’d heard of a huge trading settlement in an old amusement park, and asked if she’d check on it while she avoided thoughts of Goodneighbor and Hancock. What Nora hadn’t expected was an elaborate setup. Coulter was a meat-brained moron, and taking him down was easy with Gage’s help. She was terrified of the raiders and had excused herself at the earliest opportunity to send word back to Preston that Nuka World was not what either of them expected. After explaining the situation, Preston actually had the gall to suggest she stay and learn more about them. She’d tried changing the raider gangs, but they were set in their cruel ways. Gage was different. Nora could see the potential for good in him, that’s why he needed to be out of Nuka World now...because now...Nora was marching with her Minutemen to Nuka World. 

“We’ll stop here.” Preston announced to the small militia behind them. They had made it to the chain link fence that separated the wastes from the decayed parking lot of Nuka World.

Danse and Macready had also joined the militia, Danse to prove his usefulness, Macready to get back at the raiders.

“They might not be my raiders, but what they do is just as reprehensible.” Macready had said.

Two soliders gathered some nearby waste to make a makeshift table where Nora pulled out an old tourist map of Nuka World. She had scribbled all over the small paper while she was Overboss. She marked what sections of the park belonged to the Operators, the Pack, and the Disciples, she’d also written down where Gatorclaws, Nukalurks, and other nasty beasts had marked their territories. Danse, Macready, Preston, and Hancock were all around her as she pointed out their plan of attack. 

It was really Major Shaw’s plan. Nora was just going through the motions of it. Shaw had seen Nora stressing over the map two days before they left the Castle and had offered up her expertise.

She glanced up between her friends at the tall walls of Nuka World. “God I hope Gage isn’t here.”  
Despite her best efforts to remain cold and shut off from the raiders, Nora had found herself enjoying Gage’s company. He let her be angry, frustrated, sad, even...

Nora glanced at Hancock. Hell, in another life, one where Nora had gone to Nuka World and not Diamond City, she would have maybe—

Nora shook her head. Gage was different, but he could never replace Hancock. She kept away from the soldiers as they lazed around waiting for their time to strike. As the sky grew darker, people clustered in little groups to chat or gossip. Nora stood outside the circle of light from torches and smiled at her friends. For once, her four boys were getting along. Macready had told a joke that got even Danse to crack a smile. She glanced around before slipping away from her militia.

Nora easily found a broken part of the fence and slipped inside. She snuck through the parking lot to the overarching entrance to Nuka World. She nearly walked right in when she realized how she was dressed. She looked like General Nora and not Overboss Nora. Before she had time to think over her options a pair of patrolling Operators walked by the entrance. Nora ducked into the shadows and thankfully went unseen.

“What am I doing here?” She cursed herself. She was jeopardizing the entire mission. If she got caught, the raiders of Nuka World would have every entrance sealed and then the Minutemen would never be able to rescue the slaves trapped inside. Just as she was about to leave the way she came, a rough hand grabbed her arm, and another slid over her mouth. She was pushed out of the shadows and into the open parking lot, but quickly spun and pressed to the wall with a knife to her throat.

“Who the hell are you and what are you—boss?”

Nora looked up at her assailant, “Gage?!”

Gage let go of Nora and took a few steps back with his hands raised in defense. “What are you doing—“ he looked her over and his eye narrowed, “wait a minute...”

“Gage, you have to leave Nuka World.” Nora ignored every instinct that told her to run. She reached forward and grabbed his arms. He went stiff and looked at her as though she’d attack him at any second. “It’s not safe. Didn’t you get my message?”

“Yeah.” Gage nodded slowly. Then, as if coming out of a stupor, he yanked his arms from her grasp, “then my men tell me the Minutemen are marchin’ ‘cross the Commonwealth. Comin’ for a fight. What the hell are you doing with those assholes, boss? Come back to Nuka World, we’ll fight ‘em off and all will be forgiven.”

“No, Gage.” Nora swallowed the rock in her throat, “I can’t come back. The people of the Commonwealth need me.”

“The people of Nuka World need you.” Gage challenged.

“Gage,” Nora’s shoulders tightened in frustration. She tried to keep her voice low, “The people of Nuka World are raiders! Slavers! Murderers!”

“News flash, sister, you’re the boss of ‘em all.” Gage growled.

“I am the General of the Minutemen,” Gage took a step back as though she’d pushed him. “Not a raider.” She glared at him, but couldn’t hold it. “Gage, I wanted you out of Nuka World so that, maybe, you could work to be better. I don’t want to kill you, Gage.”

“So you’ll betray me to kill everyone else?” Gage put his hands on his hips.

“I’m trying to protect you!” She insisted.

“Don’t bother, your majesty,” he bowed mockingly at her, “I see now who you really are. A manipulator, a liar, a sneak,” Nora tried not to flinch at every word. “Get out of my town.”

Nora walked by him, but stopped by his side. She didn’t look at him, “Last chance. Porter Gage.”

“Get lost, bitch.”

Nora held back tears as she squared her shoulders and marched away. She didn’t care who saw her, Minutemen or Raider, she would not sneak away. When she made it back to her soldiers they were in a tizzy.

“General!” Preston ran over, “Where’d you go? Hancock nearly went feral when we realized—“

“Nora!” Hancock ran over and checked Nora over, “Where’d you go? What happened? You hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. Just went for a walk.” Nora lied.

“We nearly rushed the place to look for you,” Macready nodded towards Nuka World and crossed his arms.

“That was not responsible, solider,” Danse scolded.

“I know, I know,” Nora insisted, “but I’m back now.” She turned back to Nuka World which lit up as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. 

They waited until midnight to strike, sneaking across the parking lot like a silent virus ready to overtake a host. Nora’s mind went turned to auto-drive as she stood before the gates of Nuka World and faced her people. “Kill the Raiders. Leave the slaves and civilians.” She shouted, announcing their presence. Not that it helped the raiders in the park any, they were still surprised and caught completely off guard by her attack. Nora gunned down a Pack member before a familiar sounding gun shot off.

“I knew it!” 

Nora whipped her head around. In the chaos of Nuka Town, Mags Black, leader of the Operators, stood on a stone wall and narrowed her eyes at Nora. William, her brother, stood under her on the ground. 

“You bitch!” William roared as he barreled his way through the crowd. He pulled his arm back, in the low light Nora could see the glint of a tire iron, and swung down at her. 

Nora flinched, but never felt the impact. When she opened her eyes, Danse was standing between them, his arm up blocking the blow. Metal scrapped on metal as William tried to push Danse (in his power armor) back.

“It’s considered rude to hit a lady!” Danse pushed William away and Nora took the opportunity to duck around him and shoot. William staggered forward, eyes wide and crossed as he tried to look at the bullet hole between his eyes.

“Outstanding,” Danse winked at Nora before running back into the fray.

Mags screamed and Nora heard the sound of her homemade rifle fire off. She ducked behind a trash can to gain some cover, and could barely squeeze in the space as bullets ricocheted off the sides of her defense. 

“You can’t hide forever, bitch!” Mags screamed.  
Nora didn’t have to hide forever. A loud howl stopped some people fighting, and they all turned to see Mason, pumping his rifle over his head. He aimed at Nora who stood and tried to aim her gun at him.

“Watch out, boss!” Macready tackled her into an alcove. Mags gun rang out again, and she screamed in frustration. In the midst of the chaos, Macready took Nora’s hand and ran away from the deranged Operator. 

“Whoa, whoa, Overboss,” Mason grabbed Nora’s coat and yanked her from Macready’s grip. Nora screamed in shock and fear, “where ya headed?!”

“Boss!” Macready’s shouts were lost in the sea of battle cries.

Nora tried to push Mason away, but he just kept his grip on her coat and shoved his rifle under her chin. She tried to turn her head away, but felt Mason stiffen up. Then, as quickly as it happened, he released her. Nora panted in fear as her heart raced like a rabbit on med-x. She turned this way and that, and finally spotted Macready’s smoking sniper. He tipped his hat to her and disappeared into the chaos.

Nora was finally able to get her bearings an start fighting back. She loaded her gauss rifle to its maximum power before letting a charge fire off and hit a raider square in the chest. She tore through Nuka World, her Minutemen behind her as they made their way to Fizztop Mountain. 

Nora screamed in pain as something whizzed by her face. She pressed a hand to her cheek and when she pulled back she saw blood. “General!” Preston was at her side, “You alright?”

“Traitor!” Nisha’s voice roared ahead of them. 

“I’ll handle this one, General.” Preston stood between them.

“Move over, cowboy! I got bones to pick on that whore!”

“No can do, ma’am.” Preston charged up his laser rifle as Nisha charged at him. Nora charged her own rifle as Nisha leapt at Preston, but Preston fired before she could and Nisha dropped to the ground dead. “And I’m a Lieutenant. Not a cowboy.” He turned to Nora and his eyes widened, “General—!”

Nora turned and raised her rifle just in time to block a blow from the power fist that was inches from her face. “Traitorous bitch!” Mags screamed at her. Her normally well curled blonde hair was a wreck, and her smoky makeup was smeared across her face.

“Can’t be a traitor if I was never one of you!” Nora pushed her back.

Mags stumbled but quickly regained her balance and charged at Nora once more. Nora tried to block the blow again, but the power fist smashed through her gauss rifle. The gun snapped in two, the charged shots inside exploded and Nora went flying backwards. 

She could hear several people screaming for her, but her head was throbbing too much to discern what anyone was actually saying, or who was saying it. Nora pulled herself up. She tried to open her eyes, but immediately had to close one due to sweat or blood pooling inside it. Her other eye wasn’t holding up either as her glasses had been shattered. Nora’s heartbeat got louder and faster. Her glasses were one of the few things she still had from before the war. Without them, she was totally blind. Nora pushed herself to a kneeling position. Mags was across the opening in the battlefield picking herself up just as slowly. Nora staggered to her feet. Her beloved weapon was destroyed, her glasses were useless, and now she probably had a fractured skull (or at the very least a shattered eye socket). She glared at Mags, and steadied herself. Mags finally stood up, panting heavily. When she realized Nora was still standing she screamed and charged at her once more. Nora took a deep breath and waited. Just when Mags swung down to hit her, Nora raised her hands and caught the power fist. She tightened her entire body and pushed back as the fist tries to extend. Nora felt a satisfying crunch as the power fist slammed backwards and broke Mags’s wrist. Nora then yanked Mags hands down and head-butted her. Before letting Mags drop to the ground, Nora swiftly took her handmade gun and fired the remaining rounds into her chest.

“I never liked you anyways.” She spat at the dead woman beneath her.

“Nora!” Hancock ran over to her, or at least tried to. He was limping badly, but was able to support her as he wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders. Nora could hardly see him through her cracked glasses, but she could tell he was covered in blood, he had cuts all along the bottom half of his face, and his clothes had more holes than she remembered. Nora tried to speak, but every time she tried to she felt like she was going to be sick. Just as Nora started to keel over from exhaustion another familiar shot rang out from a rifle. 

“Let the traitor stand.” A voice said over the crowd. Nora glanced around, realizing they were winning the fight, she felt a little bit of hope. Even if she died here, they were going to win. Nuka World would be free. The fighting ceased and Hancock slowly turned so they could both see Gage walking through the battlefield.

Nora tried to push herself up, but her vision went dark and she stumbled into Hancock’s arms.  
“I gotcha, Sunshine.” Hancock mumbled into her hair.

“Sunshine?” Gage scoffed loudly, “That’s what the ‘terrifying’ General of the Minutemen is called?!” He barked out a laugh. Hancock tensed up. Nora was gripping his frock tightly.

“No.” Hancock answered quietly.

Gage stopped laughing.

Nora grabbed a pistol from Hancock’s hip and raised it at Gage. She tried to aim at him, but her hands were shaking, and her vision was getting worse by the second. Hancock tried to hold onto her, but she shook herself out of his grasp. Gage stared her down as she walked towards him, as if he was ready to accept death.

Hancock’s next words froze Nora in her tracks. “She’s Nora Hancock.” Before Nora could stop him, Hancock whipped out his rifle, and shot Porter Gage.


	15. That’s what I’m talking about!

No one had seen Nora all day. Normally, that meant Hancock was rampaging through the Commonwealth trying to find her, however, today he was sleeping off a night of chems, alcohol, and very hard sex. So, that left Preston, Danse, Macready, Piper, Cait, Curie, Codsworth, Deacon, X6-88, Strong, and Nick to try and find her. Preston had been the one to organize the others together.

“If Hancock wakes up and the General is still gone, he will wreck hell upon Sanctuary.” Preston explained.

“Aww, come on, Garvey. Hancock always overreacts when Nora goes missin’,” Caut crossed her arms, “But she always shows back up.”

“Well, I for one, would rather Hancock not even know she was missing.” Piper put her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes at Cait.

“Strong No Understand, Human Leader Is Strong! Not As Strong As Strong, But No Need Help.” Strong thumped his chest once.

“Easy there, big fella,” Nick ducked out of the way of Strong’s elbow just in time to avoid getting decked in the face. They watched Strong go back to patching his armor up before turning back to regroup together.

“Why don’t we just have Xavier go fetch her?” Deacon suggested.

“Xavier?” Macready questioned.

“I believe he is referring to me,” X6-88 spoke up, “however, Xavier is not my designated sign and I no longer have access to Institute tracking technology as a way to find her.”

“Can’t be any worse than a name like ‘Danse’.” Macready teased.

Danse did a double take and stared down at Macready, “Excuse me, raider?” He steamed.

“I’m just saying. If I were a synth and got to pick my name—“

The conversations devolved into petty fights and arguments. Preston sighed and covered his face with his hands. At this rate they might as well go over to Nora’s and wake Hancock up so he could see the mess the devolved into. He was so caught up in the trivial fighting that he didn’t notice Curie saddle up next to him.

“Monsieur Garvey?” 

Preston nearly jumped out of his skin, “oh. Hello, Curie, what do you need?” He asked.

“Oh,” she blushed, “No’zing really...but...I thought I saw Madame Nora heading towards ‘ze old trash dump,” Curie pointed east down the river. 

“You heard the lady,” Preston spoke over the growing arguments, “Trash dump to the east. Let’s go.”

Since it was so close to home, many of the crew didn’t feel like packing heavy ammunition. 

However, they all agreed if Nora wasn’t there or was in trouble, the fastest runners (Cait, Macready, X6-88, and Deacon) would run to get some heavy fire weapons. The walk took five minutes, three of those were to break up fights between Deacon and literally everyone who walked beside him, but they came to the half destroyed fencing around the old dumping grounds.

Preston held up a hand to silence the conversations behind him and listened for a moment. “Y’all hear that?” He asked. The ragtag group pressed themselves to the gate where they could see through the piles of junk at Nora.

She was facing off against a Sentry Bot with no armor, and no guns. Instead she had a power fist attached to each arm and was sparring with the death machine turned sparring partner.

“Would ya look at tha’.” Cait whispered mesmerized.

“Kids got a good swing.” Nick sounded equally impressed.

“How’d she manage to hack a sentry bot?” Macready asked.

None of them could answer that, but none of them really cared. All of them watched as Nora fought the de-gunned Sentry Bot in hand to hand combat. The more she fought, the tenser she got, and the group collectively flinched and winced when the Sentry Bot got a good hit on her ribcage. 

Deacon was the first to move, despite everyone’s protests. He climbed on top of a pile of junked cars and watched eagerly as Nora’s power fists let out hisses with every hit. However, he was quickly joined by Cait, Piper, and Macready, all of who looked just as eager as Deacon. 

Nora was slowing down, exhaustion clearly taking a toll on her, and she’d gone from swinging punches nonstop to holding her power fists up in defense of the Sentry Bot’s flailing arms. She coughed and Preston spotted blood dribbling down her chin. Piper and Cait were mimicking Nora’s moves, swinging out at invisible enemies as Nora wailed on the Sentry Bot. The General was breathing heavily now, and they could all hear her straining for air. With a scream filled with rage, Nora finally got one last hit in and crushed the Sentry Bot’s head. She panted heavily as the giant machine shut down before she collapsed to her knees.

Before anyone could run to her, they heard Hancock’s voice by the fence, “That’s what I’m talking about!” He cheered and clapped. Nora smiled weakly up at him as he jogged into the open circle. “Doing alright, Sunshine?” She nodded breathlessly and smiled at her friends.

“What? Didn’t think I knew y’all were there?” She weakly took in their shocked expressions and laughed when they all clambered around her asking her a thousand questions.


	16. Listen. No, really listen

“I’m fine, Robert, really.” Nora watched MacCready as he fished through his pockets for a stimpack. 

“Like he—heck you are.” MacCready pulled out a stimpack.

“Robert! No!” Nora held his hands back. “Please, don’t waste a stimpack on this—“

“You’re limping!” He argued.

“I limp! I have for a while now.” Nora explained. “It,” she sighed, “It happened before I hired you.”

MacCready looked at her curiously. “What DID happen?” He asked. 

Nora’s eyes went vacant as she remembered, “Kellogg.”

“That assh—jerk who kidnapped your boy?” MacCready asked.

Nora nodded, “he was camping out at Fort Hagen.” She massaged her right shin. Somedays she could still feel the sting of the bullet. “I went alone—don’t look at me like that, I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt!” MacCready closed his dropped jaw and narrowed his eyes at her.

“So what happened?” He asked.

“A turret outside caught me off guard. They were docile as I approached, but when I backed away from the building to look for an alternate entrance they began shooting at me. Didn’t even realized I’d been shot ‘til I got away.” Nora closed her eyes, remembering how she had ducked behind a house to get away from the turrets and cried out in pain as she squatted. She remembered pulling her hands away from her shin to find them covered in blood. “I got all the way to Sanctuary on adrenaline alone.” She remembered taking a hit of jet and fishing the bullet out of her leg while her mind was numb and the world was slow. She remembered Hancock finding her crying and bleeding.

“It never healed properly.” Nora was now whispering. She shook her head to clear the memories, “doesn’t matter now—“ something rattled in the next room over.

“Like hel-heck it doesn’t, what if—“

“Shh. Listen.” Nora tried to quiet him. She strained her ears, but the hospital was quiet.

“No, boss, you listen—“

Nora shushed him again, “No. really listen.” 

MacCready huffed, but stayed silent. His eyes widened, “Ghouls.”

Nora saw movement behind MacCready and grabbed his vest, “Get down!” She yanked him to the side, slipping his rifle off his waist and shot at the ghoul charging through the doorway. 

MacCready pushed himself back up and Nora waved at him, “help me up, help me up, help me up!” He hoisted her up, propping her up against the desk she’d been sitting against. 

He yanked the rifle from her hands and handed her his pistol. She complained, but MacCready didn’t care to listen. They took out ghouls as they swarmed the office, covering each other when the other had to reload. When the hospital finally grew silent Nora doubled over in pain. 

“I think I’ll take that stimpack now.”


	17. There's just something about him/her

Codsworth was built to serve. Or at least, that’s what he always told everyone. However, two hundred and ten years in near total isolation can do a lot for artificial intelligence coding, and before long Codsworth was developing a sense of morality, a sense of humor, and an instinct for preservation and survival. Usually that meant he kept to himself unless his mistress needed help, but as her power and friend circle grew, Codsworth found himself enjoying the company of the good people of Sanctuary. He constantly worried about the sort his mistress was running off with, particularly Mayor Hancock, but he found the best way to keep tabs on his mistress was through gossip. Which is why the Mr. Handy unit was currently listening in on the conversation happening in the living room of his mistress’s home while he was pretending to clean.

“Oh, come off it, Nora, ya coulda had any man in the ‘wealth and you went for the dried piece of brahmin ass.” Cait laughed as she tipped a bottle back. Nora rolled her eyes as she brushed Curie’s hair.

“Seriously, Blue, what is up with that?” Piper rolled from her back onto her stomach and looked up at Nora, “You literally get letters and radio signals asking about you, and you just stick with the first guy you meet?”

“Hancock was NOT the first guy I met.” Nora corrected her, “Preston was.”

“Oh my bad.” Piper mockingly held up her hands and laughed.

“I do not understand,” Curie questioned, craning her neck back to look at Nora, “What is so wrong with Monsieur Hancock?”

“Ah, nothin’ really,” Cait shrugged, answering before Nora could, “Just the whole skin thing, and no nose thing, and the fact he’s skinnier than a rail.”

“True, but no fingernails.” Piper pointed out. Nora wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Cait’s eyes lit up, “Wot?! Is that true?” She looked at Nora.

“No fingernails?” Curie asked.

Nora took a breath, “Just ignore them. Ah, Codsworth,” Nora smiled at him as he hovered into the room, wanting an excuse to leave before the conversation turned to something he didn’t wish to hear about his mistress. Codsworth’s circuits nearly melted. It was true, Nora could have had any gentleman in Massachusett. She was kind, beautiful inside and out, and strong. She hadn’t let the wasteland break her completely, and was the only beacon of light left for Codsworth. However, Nora insisted upon bedding up with a hooligan like Mayor Hancock, and Codsworth wasn’t entirely sure if the good mayor was worthy of even the dirt on her boots. He kept such opinions to himself. “I didn’t realize you were still cleaning.” Nora laughed. Her laugh could have carried all of the radiation out of the Commonwealth. If Codsworth could have he would have smiled.

“Always working to improve our nasty situation.” He bowed one optical at the ladies.

“Codsworth, don’t worry about it tonight. The house will survive one night without a dusting.” Nora insisted.

“Of course, ma’am!” Codsworth turned to fly off.

“Listen, there’s just something about him that I can’t explain...He makes waking up...easier.” Nora answered her friends quietly.

“That’s a shock considering how hard you two shag.” Cait teased.

Codsworth increased his motor output and left the house with a “Good night, ladies!”

“Good night, Codsworth!” He could hear them call out.

Codsworth hovered over to the community house, hoping he could be of use there. Inside he found Mr. Garvey, Mr. Deacon, Mr. Valentine, Mr. Hancock, Paladin Danse, and Mr. MacCready sitting at a booth.

“You got the most sought after girl on your arm, Hancock.” MacCready teased, “What more could ya want?” He sipped his beer.

“Miss Nora is not a ‘girl’,” Paladin Danse scolded, thumping MacCready on the back of his head, “She is a woman.”

“Yeah, and if anything, Hancock’s on her arm.” Nick joked. Deacon nearly spit his drink out as he choked on laughter.

“Hey Codsworth.” Preston greeted, waving over the back of the booth at him.

“Good evening, Mr. Garvey.” Codsworth hovered by a lounge couch and pretended to beat the dust out of it as he listened to the conversation.

“You fellas are just jealous.” Hancock rolled his eyes, blowing smoke out of his mouth.”

“Jealous?” Deacon asked, wiping his chin, “Of what? Cuddling with a raisin every night?”

“Jealous that I got the best girl the Commonwealth has ever seen.” Hancock held up a hand to stop Paladin Danse, “Trust me, bud. I know how ‘woman’ she is.” Codsworth’s insides burned. He did not like Mayor Hancock’s attitude about his mistress. 

The men joked around a bit more before Preston settled them down, “settler’s are sleeping upstairs,” he shushed the men.

“Seriously, Hancock, you doing alright?” Nick asked.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, just.” Hancock paused. Codsworth tried to look busy in case any of them looked at him, but they too were listening with baited breath to hear what Hancock had to say. “Ever since we’ve been back from Nuka World...Nora ain’t been the same.”

“Well you did call her Nora Hancock.” MacCready pointed out.

“You what?!” Deacon asked, shocked.

“Well, shit, I mean,” Hancock rubbed the back of his neck, “Look. Me and Nora’ve got this thing going on and…”

“Holy Shiiiiiitake mushrooms!” MacCready lunged across the table and grabbed Hancock’s hand, “Well if you like it, then you should have put a ring on it!” He exclaimed, holding Hancock’s hand out for the other men to see, “Nora’s snagged Goodnieghbor’s most sought after bachelor.”

“You son of a gun! When did that happen?” Preston demanded, slamming one hand on the table and clapping the other to Hancock’s back. 

“A while back, look,” Hancock held his hands up in defense, “Ain’t no big deal. At least, I thought no big deal…”

“If it’s no big deal then why shout out at the raiders ‘she’s Nora Hancock’!”. MacCready teased, finally letting go of Hancock’s hand.

“You did what?” Deacon was doubled over wheezing.

“Shut up!” Hancock reached across the table to smack at him, but Nick made him sit back down.

“Look, John.” Nick calmed him and the other men down. “What Nora did must have been a big deal for her. Probably something she wants to ease into. You just kind of shouting out that you’re now sharing names probably shook her up is all...I’m sure if you explain your reasoning she’ll relax and be back to normal in no time.”

Codsworth could not believe what his auditory processors were picking up. His mistress had given Mayor Hancock a ring?! And he had called her ‘Nora Hancock’?! This was not his evening, and he needed to get out into the cool air to cool off his circuits. 

As he hovered out he heard MacCready ask, “Hancock, I’ve never seen you like this. I gotta know...why her? Out of all the assssssets you could claim in the ‘wealth…why a two hundred year old popsicle?”

“I can’t explain it, MacCready…” Hancock answered quietly, “She makes me feel like I can just exist...she gives me hope...I can’t…” He sighed, “There’s just something about her.”

Codsworth paused. Maybe Mayor Hancock wasn’t all that bad...


	18. Secrets? I love secrets.

“Are you sure about this, boss?” MacCready asked, “you’ve already done so much for me and Duncan.”

“Nonsense, Robert.” Nora insisted, counting out some caps, “Duncan needs you.”

“So do you—“ Nora raised an eyebrow at MacCready, he blushed and turned away, “Ya know. The Commonwealth needs me, your people need me,” he trailed off, his voice growing quieter.

Nora laughed, “Don’t worry, I know what you mean.”

MacCready sighed. “What if...what if I’m not a good dad?” He asked quietly.

Nora loomed up from her counting, “What?” She asked incredulously.

“I mean...I never had a father figure...and Lucy always helped me before…” MacCready sighed, burying his face in his hands.

“Robert,” Nora stood up, walked around her desk, and kneeled beside her friend, “do you want to know a secret?”

“Oooh, we tellin’ secrets?” Hancock asked from the doorway, appearing from seemingly nowhere, “I love secrets.” He smirked.

Nora smiled at him before turning back to MacCready, “every parent fucks up. Nobody is perfect. But you love your son, yeah?”

MacCready nodded, “more than anything.”

“Then that is what matters.” Nora smiled at him.

“Gosh, you’d think she was a mom.” Hancock teased.

“Hardy har,” Nora stood up, “Watch it, Hancock, or I may send you with him to the Capital.”


End file.
